Lost Soul
by nibblesfan
Summary: When a new girl shows up at the opera claiming she's from the future, everyone thinks she's insane. Everyone, that is, but Erik, who can't help but wonder if she's as crazy as everyone says, or if she's just another lost soul out of place. Erik/OC
1. Chapter 1

Natalie stared at the essay prompt. _If you could rewrite the ending of one book, what book and how would you change it?_ What the hell kind of question was that? She didn't read. Well not much anyway. Finally she settled on the last book she had read and began to write. _If I could, I would change the ending to The Phantom of the Opera. Erik and Christine belonged together and…_

* * *

"So what did you think of the essay?" her best friend Shelby asked.

Natalie shrugged. "Could've been worse. Remember that essay we had to write in history? _How did Darwin single handedly start two world wars?_"

"Actually I think it was _how did the writings of Darwin impact the world leaders' mindset leading up to World War One_?" Shelby corrected.

"Who cares? I got a D on that essay." Shelby snickered at her. Natalie rolled her eyes. "Anyway, what did you write about?"

"I said I would change _Twilight_ and make Bella go with the hunk rather than the sparkling fairy."

Natalie gagged. "God I hate that book. Destroyed any and all respect I had for vampires. Dracula, Anne Rice, all of them ruined."

Shelby pursed her lips. "Alright then, what did you write about?"

"_The Phantom of the Opera_. It was the last book I read," she said with a shrug. "It beats _Twilight_. If I had to write about it, I would make them all die."

"I loved _Phantom_."

"You only saw the movie."

"Touché. But I liked the way it was. What did you change?"

"I hated Raoul. He was so fake."

Shelby laughed. "A fictional character was fake? Would have never guessed."

"You know what I mean. He was too goddamn perfect. Christine should have gone with Erik. Raoul was a plastic Barbie. Erik at least had flaws and a personality."

"Erik?"

Natalie groaned. "I thought you said you liked the story. Erik is the Phantom's real name."

"When did they say that? I don't remember that in the movie. You made that up."

She smiled smugly. "It was only in the book. True Phans know that. Duh. Obviously you're not a true Phan."

Shelby stuck her tongue out at Natalie. "Anyway, we're still on for tonight right?"

"Johnny Depp's new movie? I'd die before I'd miss that!" Natalie squealed. "Of course I'll be there. Seven right?"

"See ya then!" Natalie skipped off humming the soundtrack of _Sweeny Todd_. She couldn't wait for the movie.

* * *

"C'mon," Natalie muttered, glancing at the clock. 6:55. "Why isn't the light changing? It's _my_ turn! I am running oober behind! I refuse to be late to Johnny's movie." As soon as the light turned green, Natalie floored the gas. She knew it was icy outside from the snow, but she wasn't slowing down for anything.

She flew down the road, going faster and faster. All of a sudden, Natalie hit a patch of ice, and she screamed as her car spun out of control. Her head slammed into the steering wheel as the car slid into a ditch, knocking her unconscious.

* * *

"Mademoiselle," a voice called. "Mademoiselle are you alright?"

Natalie stirred. "Huh?"

"Madame Giry! She's waking up!"

Natalie blinked. "Who are you? Where am I? What happened?"

A girl about Natalie's age was kneeling next to her. "My name is Christine Daae. We found you outside the opera unconscious. We were wondering what happened ourselves."

"Opera? There isn't an opera in town. Where am I?"

"You're in Paris."

"PARIS?" Natalie screeched. "As in France? How did I get to Paris? How did I get in France? I have _never_ been to France in my life! Hell, how did I get to Europe?"

"What do you mean?" the girl asked in alarm.

"I. Do not. Belong. In. France." Natalie said slowly. "I am an American. A-M-E-R-I-C-A-N. Not French. Not even remotely French."

"Do you know how you got here?" Christine asked.

"I don't have a clue. The last thing I remember was crashing my car, and then I woke up here. I was on my way to the movies to go see Johnny Depp's new movie."

"I'm sorry, you what? Car? Movie?"

"Christine!" A woman in a black dress swept into the room followed by a man. "I have a doctor."

"Mademoiselle? Would you be able to tell me what happened?" the man asked as he began cleaning a cut on Natalie's head.

Natalie sighed. "I crashed my car on the way to the movies in America then woke up in Paris, France. Or at least that what she's telling me."

"You did what? Going where?" the doctor inquired.

"Crashed my car. Going to the movies. What about that is so hard for you people to follow?"

"I'm sorry, but what?"

"A car. You drive it, to go from one place to another. I crashed mine. While going to the movies. You know a moving picture with sound that you see in the theater."

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about," the doctor said. "I suppose that it's possible that your head injury is confusing you…"

"For God's sake!" Natalie screamed. "It's basic technology! Honestly people, what year is it?"

"1881," Christine replied.

That was _not_ the answer Natalie was expecting at all. "What? No! No it's not! It's 2012! Whatever joke this is, it isn't funny!"

"Mademoiselle, calm down," the doctor said. "I'm sure you're just a little mixed up from your injury. Amnesia and confusion are common with head injuries. In time you should recover. Don't worry."

"You think I'm crazy don't you?" Natalie demanded.

"No, no I never said that," the doctor insisted. "I'm saying that you need rest and in time everything will clear up."

"Yes, you think I'm crazy. But I'm not." Natalie burst into tears. "I'm not crazy."

* * *

A dark haired man was hidden in the shadows of the opera house. He had heard the shouts that they had found an unconscious girl outside so he came up to check it out. This girl wasn't like any other he'd seen. She was wearing pants like a man and her blonde hair was streaked with blue. And she was insistent as hell that the year was 2012. In other words, everyone was convinced she was insane. But something about her intrigued him. He signaled Madame Giry, who moved closer to his hiding spot.

"Yes?"

"She's interesting. Keep her around."

"Um, okay. I'll see what I can do."


	2. Chapter 2

"Monsieur Lefèvre, please reconsider!"

"Madame Giry, my answer remains the same: No. The girl is utterly insane. I refuse to have her hanging around my opera," the manager snapped.

"So you're just going to turn her loose in the street?" Madame Giry demanded. "She is obviously very lost, confused, and scared. She's perfectly harmless and I'm sure we could find some place for her here. Give her a chance."

"The girl is not my problem. Lock her up in asylum where she belongs." The manager opened the door to his office. "Good day Madame," he said, obviously dismissing her.

Lefèvre groaned when he saw the parchment envelope with the red wax seal sitting on his desk. He had plans on selling the opera at the first chance he got, but until then he still had to deal with the Phantom and his demands. He pulled out the letter, wondering what on earth that damn ghost could want now. His salary had been paid, his box had been left untouched, and his "requests" for the casting had been put into effect. To his surprise the note only had two words written in the strong yet elegant handwriting that Lefèvre had come to dread.

_Humor Me_

With a heavy sigh, the manager stuck his head out the door and called to the ballet mistress who was about to disappear around the corner. "Madame Giry, perhaps you could find a place for the girl after all." The woman nodded then walked away. Lefèvre flopped into his chair and began to rub his temples. He had a meeting next with two idiots named Andre and Firmin. Perhaps he could con them into taking this infernal place, and he could be done with the whole damn business.

* * *

"NO!" Natalie screamed. "You can tell me it's 1881. You can tell me I'm crazy. But when you tell me to wear a dress, you are crossing a line!"

Christine smiled kindly. "Oh come on, they aren't that bad."

"Nuh uh, no way, no how. I've worn 2012 dresses and those are bad enough. I am _not_ wearing an 1800's dress! Over my dead freaking body!"

Fifteen minutes later Natalie crossed her arms with a scowl. "How the hell did you win that fight?" She glanced down at the dress. "I can't breathe in this damn thing. There is a reason no one wears corsets where I come from."

A blonde dancer shrugged. "You'll get used to it. Try doing ballet in one."

"Oh Meg," Christine said with a smile. "A corset isn't that bad."

"And that's just the corset," Natalie resumed her rant. "Then of course you can't do anything while wearing a dress. You can't run, can't go upstairs. Hell I can barely walk in a dress. And that's a regular dress. With a skirt this poufy, I don't think I'll ever be able to move."

Meg laughed. "So what on earth do you wear if you don't wear dresses?"

"Pants, like any sensible person."

Christine's eyes widened. "You wear pants?"

"You don't?" Natalie challenged. "Why not? They're so much more practical and comfortable. It makes so much more sense."

"You're so weird," Meg said with an eye roll.

"Actually according to you people, I'm crazy. There's a slight difference," Natalie said nonchalantly. "But what's wrong with being different? It's never killed anyone before."

Before either dancer could respond, Madame Giry walked in. "Shouldn't you two been in rehearsal?" The two girls disappeared to the stage. The ballet mistress turned to Natalie. "The manager, Monsieur Lefèvre has agreed to let you stay."

"Really?" Natalie was shocked. She had been expecting to be locked away for insanity. "What's the catch?" she asked suspiciously.

"No catch. A man of influence here at the opera finds you…curious."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that for now he's the only thing keeping you out of an asylum so if I were you, I'd be grateful and not ask questions."

* * *

Erik was watching the trio of girls from his hiding spot. The new girl, Natalie, well, she was definitely interesting. He had never seen a girl throw such a fit over having to wear a dress. And she could swear like a sailor, which was another thing that set her apart from all the women Erik had seen. But the dancers seemed to like her so far.

After Meg, Christine, and Madame Giry had left, Erik remained hidden watching her, wondering what on earth had compelled him to keep her here. There was definitely something about her that he found interesting, something that he couldn't quite place yet.

"Well Natalie," she said to herself, not realizing there was someone watching her. "You're in a bit of a pickle. You're definitely not home, and everyone thinks you're crazy. This is some dream gone wrong, so until you wake up, you're going to have to make the best out of a bad situation." She spun in a circle. "Hey, as long as you're crazy, you can have a lot of fun." Erik raised an eyebrow as she began to sing.

_"When I was young  
It seemed that life was so wonderful  
A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical  
And all the birds in the trees  
Well they'd be singing so happily  
Joyfully, playfully watching me_

_But then they send me away_  
_To teach me how to be sensible_  
_Logical, responsible, practical_  
_And then they showed me a world_  
_Where I could be so dependable_  
_Clinical, intellectual, cynical_

_There are times when all the world's asleep_  
_The questions run too deep for such a simple man_  
_Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned?_  
_I know it sounds absurd but please tell me who I am_

_I say, "Now what would you say for they calling you a radical_  
_Liberal, fanatical, criminal?"_  
_Won't you sign up your name? We'd like to feel you're_  
_Acceptable, respectable, presentable, a vegetable_  
_Oh, ch-ch-check it out yeah_

_At night when all the world's asleep_  
_The questions run so deep for such a simple man_  
_Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned?_  
_I know it sounds absurd but please tell me who I am_  
_Who I am, who I am, who I am_

_'Coz I'm feeling so illogical_  
_D-d-digital_  
_Oh, oh, oh, oh_  
_Unbelievable_  
_B-b-bloody marvelous"_

Erik chuckled as she walked away. There was absolutely something strange about her. But in an interesting way. And if anything, this Natalie girl certainly was amusing.


	3. Chapter 3

"So what exactly am I doing here?" Natalie asked Madame Giry as soon as she could corner the ballet mistress.

"I don't know," the woman replied. "What are you doing here?"

"You know exactly what I mean," she snapped. "You said I was here because someone thought I was curious. What does that mean? And who exactly things that? I want a straightforward answer, no more avoiding my questions."

"You're going to have to find the answers yourself."

"Are you people always this damn evasive?"

"Maybe," Madame Giry replied. Natalie scowled at her. "Anyway, for now you'll be staying in the ballet dorms with Christine, Meg, and the others. It seems the best place to put you."

"So you're not going to answer my question?"

"I believe I already did."

Madame Giry walked away. "And they think I'm crazy," Natalie muttered with a sigh. "They obviously haven't met themselves."

Natalie meandered through the opera house, trying to figure out what on earth was going on. Between Christine Daae and Madame Giry and the fact it was the 1800's, she had figured out that she was somehow in the Phantom of the Opera story. Natalie wondered if perhaps she was stuck in a dream, or if it were possible she really had been transported into the story. She decided to stick with the dream theory. "Maybe I really am going crazy," she mused. "Maybe this is all one big hallucination." She smiled at the thought then slid down the deserted hallway like a rock star while singing one of her favorite songs.

_"Mental wounds still screaming_  
_Driving me insane_  
_I'm going off the rails on a crazy train_  
_I'm going off the rails on a crazy train_

_I know that things are going wrong for me_  
_You gotta listen to my words_  
_Yeah"_

She began to air guitar, singing the solo at the top of her lungs. "What the hell are you doing?" a new voice shouted.

* * *

Erik clapped his hand over his mouth. He didn't know what had possessed him to talk to Natalie. The song she was singing wasn't like any music he had heard before, and he was genuinely curious. But that didn't mean he needed to say anything to her. Obviously he shouldn't have, Erik thought as he saw her run away in fear. Cursing his own stupidity, Erik walked away. He would have to wait for another time to find out more about her strange music.

* * *

Natalie slammed the door behind her and leaned up against it. After she had heard the voice, she dashed into the first unlocked room she could find. A few minutes passed before she realized how stupid she was. She was stuck in the Phantom of the Opera's world, and she had just run away from the only person who truly knew this place. If anyone could help her, the Phantom could.

Cautiously, she opened the door and went back down the hall to where he had spoken to her. "Hello?" she called. "Monsieur Phantom? I'm sorry. You just surprised me, that's all." No response. Natalie sighed. How could she be so senseless? She groaned when another thought dawned on her. She knew someone who could help her meet the Phantom. She ran towards Christine's dressing room.

About an hour later, Natalie had her ear pressed against the door. She could Christine singing and every now and again a male voice would blend with hers. Natalie wanted nothing more than to burst down the door, but she forced herself to stay put. Eventually the voice vanished and the door opened.

"Have a nice practice session Christine?" she asked with a knowing smile.

"Natalie…I uh…I…" Christine stammered.

"Had a lesson with your Angel of Music did you?"

"How…how did you know?" Christine's face turned pale.

"I know things. Turns out there are perks coming from the future," Natalie said with a knowing smile. She didn't add that this story would turn out badly once the Vicomte de Chagny showed up. Then a mischievous grin spread across Natalie's face. Maybe, before she found her way home, she could give this story a happier ending.

"You're still sticking to the 'I come from over two hundred years in the future' story?" Christine asked in surprise.

Natalie shrugged. "Hey as long as it works for me, I'm gonna roll with it. See, I don't have to do anything as long as I'm crazy. And I can really mess with people. Besides, how else would I know about your Angel? I've been here like two days."

"Please…please don't say anything. To anyone," Christine begged.

"Now why would I do that?" Natalie teased. "For all we know, you could replace Carlotta. God knows someone needs to do that."

"Natalie!" Christine squealed. "Don't talk like that. If she finds out you said that…"

"And who cares what I say?" Natalie replied smugly. "I'm the crazy girl."

"Well, no offense, but you showed up in men's clothing, unconscious, claiming you're from the future. It doesn't help you have blue hair either."

"It's not all blue. It's just streaked. Like Avril Lavigne's hair," Natalie explained.

"Who?"

"Right," she sighed. "You don't know cause I'm from the future."

Christine changed the subject. "So are you going to watch the performance tonight? It's La Traviata."

"Are you going to be in the chorus?" Natalie asked curiously.

"Where else would I be?"

"I haven't decided yet if I'm going to watch. I don't speak Italian. But I'll think about it."

"I'll see you tonight!" Christine said with a wave.

"She's so confident I'm going to be there," Natalie muttered with a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

As the overture began, Natalie walked into the opera box. She couldn't believe that she had actually come to this box. She took a deep breath and sat down and waited.

Nothing happened until about half way through the first act when a male voice spoke in her ear. "Get out of my box."

Natalie looked just to make sure there wasn't really a person standing there before stubbornly replying. "No."

"That wasn't an option. Leave now or I swear you will regret it."

"Why?" Natalie asked innocently. "You're not using it."

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am. Get out."

"Well I don't see you. Therefore, you aren't in the box, and if you aren't in the box then you aren't using it."

"Earlier you were so keen on running."

Natalie shrugged. "You scared the crap out of me. I wasn't expecting you. However since Box Five is the Phantom's box, and I am in Box Five, I think I am more likely to be expecting you."

For a split second there was audible surprise in the Phantom's voice. "You purposely came here? You really must be crazy."

"Or perhaps the show was sold out and this was the only available seat and I didn't want to watch backstage."

"This is _not_ available. This box is _mine_. And you are _not_ welcome here. Leave!" There was anger growing in the Opera Ghost's voice. The only thing Natalie could do without seriously pissing him off was to change tactics.

She sighed dramatically. "And I thought you would be able to understand me. Nobody ever gets me. I thought you were going to be different, but in reality you're just like them." Natalie had her fingers crossed. She was purposely striking a nerve, and honestly, she had no clue how he would react.

His voice was cold, clipped, and eerily calm. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"

"It means I thought maybe a fellow insane person would understand me. I mean, what really is the definition of insanity? Who gets to decide what is or isn't insane? Hell, for all we know, you and I are the only sane people in this world."

His tone grew dangerous. "Did you just call me insane?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I did," Natalie replied bluntly. "I think society's definition of insane is someone being different enough that 'normal' people give in to the person's demands, no matter how ludicrous because society fears anything that doesn't fit."

"Is that so?"

"Yes." Natalie smiled. "It's the reason the manager does whatever you ask, even if it is completely outrageous. It's the reason he gives you twenty-thousand francs a month. It's also the reason you're going to let me sit here."

* * *

Erik's jaw was hanging open. There certainly was a lot to this girl. She could argue sensibly, well at any rate she was stubborn. He was half tempted to order her out again, but he knew that she wouldn't leave. "So I'm insane because I ask for a few things here and there?" he inquired.

"Yes. You run the casting and the shows, or at least that's what I'm told. Plus you get paid a ridiculous amount of money because the manager is scared of you. I just asked for a seat. Besides, being insane gets such a bad reputation. What's wrong with being different? I try to stand out. What's the fun of blending in when you can be unique?"

Erik stared at her. She didn't get it. She obviously never had gone through what he had. "A lot. A lot's wrong with being different," he whispered, touching his mask.

"Christine doesn't seem to think so."

His breath caught in a strangled gasp. How…how…? Had Christine told her? Natalie smiled smugly at his silence. "Not so scary now are you? Don't worry, she didn't say a word. You should've seen her face when I told her I knew."

"How?" he demanded. "How?"

"I'm psychic," she replied.

"Dammit! Tell me!"

"A magician never reveals their secrets."

The next thing Erik knew, he had his hand wrapped around her throat. Natalie grabbed his wrist and struggled for air. "Please," she gasped. "Erik."

With a cry of shock, he released her. No one knew that name. Not Christine, not the gypsies that kept him on display in their freak show, not even Madame Giry. The only people who knew his name were the parents who abandoned him. How did this girl know?

* * *

Natalie fell to the ground, trying to catch her breath as the masked man released her. She had definitely caught his attention and was lucky he hadn't killed her. "Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me," she whispered.

"More of your future theory?"

"Look, your name is Erik; you were, for all intents and purposes, tortured by gypsies, and then rescued by Madame Giry. Now you're the Phantom of the Opera and Christine's Angel of Music. I can't tell you how I know, but I won't tell anyone. I swear on my life."

Erik stared at her for a long time. Natalie was too scared to move, so she held his gaze and waited for his reaction. "Get out," he whispered. Natalie turned and ran for her life.


	5. Chapter 5

Natalie ran through the opera house away from Box Five as fast as she could. Turning a corner, she slammed into somebody. "Natalie!" Meg smiled. "There you are! Christine and I were looking for you. Did you watch the performance? What's wrong? You look like you've seen…Oh my God did you?"

Natalie hesitated before answering. "Not exactly. He just told me I was intruding and to leave his box so he could watch the opera. But I didn't see him." It wasn't quite a lie. She had seen him, but because of the mask, she didn't see Erik's face.

"What were you doing in Box Five?" Meg asked in horror. "That's his personal box. No one is allowed in! No one!"

"Well I didn't know that. I was looking for a seat because the show was sold out and I found an empty box. So I sat down. Next thing I knew, there was a voice telling me to leave so I did. If there's one thing I've picked up from you people, it's that you don't mess with the Opera Ghost."

"You need to be more careful! Accidents happen to people who mess with him. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Don't worry Meg. I won't do anything stupid. He asked me to leave so I did. No harm done. Now where's Christine? You guys did fabulously tonight!"

"Really?"

"The chorus was amazing. Just don't get me started on Carlotta."

"Why not?"

"Cause she has the most God-awful voice I've ever heard. Frankly, it's embarrassing. I wouldn't be able to show my face in public if I sounded like that."

"Christine would freak if she heard you say that."

"Christine is too nice," Natalie retorted. "She knows Carlotta is horrible but she won't admit it. Hell, everyone knows it. If I were the Phantom, I would get rid of her in a heartbeat."

"Oh don't say that!"

"Too late." As Natalie and Meg sauntered off to find Christine, she could feel a pair of eyes watching her, but she knew that she wouldn't find anyone, and she wondered just how badly she had pissed off the Phantom.

* * *

Erik watched Natalie from the shadows. He had been on his way to Christine's dressing room when he heard her talking to Meg. He was honestly surprised that she pretended she hadn't seen him. She was an impressive liar; Erik wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Biting his lip, Erik wondered what he was going to do with this new arrival. It was technically his fault she was still here.

Although she did bring up some valid points. Carlotta was horrible and any of the chorus girls could replace her in a second. In fact, he knew a certain chorus girl who could be a wonderful replacement. Erik waited until the girls vanished out of sight before rushing off to the two-way mirror in Christine's dressing room.

"Natalie saw the Phantom!" Meg was saying.

"What?" Christine asked.

"I did not. I wandered into his box, and a voice told me to get out so I did."

"You really…?" Christine's face turned white. "Natalie, that's dangerous. No one messes with the Phantom and gets away with it for long."

"Yeah, Meg's made that pretty clear. Don't worry; I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. I'll keep away from the Phantom's domain from now on."

Christine nodded. "Just watch out." She looked around, obviously sensing Erik was there. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to change."

As soon as the girls left, Erik spoke. "Christine."

She immediately cringed at the sternness in his voice. "Angel?"

"How?" he demanded. "Did you tell her?"

"No!" Christine insisted. "I would never! You know I wouldn't. I don't know how she knew; she just walked up to me and said she knew that you were teaching me to sing. I don't know how she found out! Please believe me!"

He saw the fear and panic in her eyes and realized Christine was indeed telling the truth. "Don't worry, I believe you." Christine sighed in relief; she wasn't losing her angel. "However that girl concerns me. She knows too much."

"Angel! She won't say anything! Natalie promised me she wouldn't and I trust her! Besides, nobody would listen to her anyway. Just don't do anything to hurt her," Christine begged.

Warning signals flashed in his head. Erik adopted a more patronizing tone. "Christine, I would never. I'm just not sure the Opera Populaire is the best place for her."

"She has nowhere else to go. She's…" Before Christine could finish, the door opened and Natalie bounded in.

"Jeez Christine, you take forever to get ready," Natalie said with a smile. "Hurry up so we can get supper. Meg and I are starving."

"Oh I'm sorry. I'll be out in a second." The door closed again, and Christine turned back around. "Angel? Angel?"

Erik ignored her. He turned and walked away, wondering how much trouble Natalie was going to be. Erik knew that she interrupted because she had known he was talking to Christine. He wasn't sure if he trusted Natalie to keep his secrets. But at the moment, his first priority was to figure out how on earth she knew so much about his life.

* * *

Late that night, back in the ballet dorms, Natalie was tossing and turning. She wanted to go hunt down the Phantom, but she was scared of what would happen if she did. Finally she decided that she couldn't just sit around and wait for him to decide if he was going to show up; if Natalie wanted to try to talk to him again, she was going to have to go on a ghost hunt.

Slipping silently out of the dorms, Natalie made her way to the staircase that Madame Giry would eventually lead Raoul down. There was another passage through Christine's mirror, but as far as she knew, this was more direct.

As she made her way down to the cellar that the Phantom called home, Natalie couldn't help but notice how deathly still it was. The only noise she could her was that of her own footsteps. She couldn't take the quiet anymore and began to sing a song to herself.

_I have been this way before_  
_Check each window, every door_  
_For a passage through this night_  
_This night_

_But each hallway ends the same_  
_Every door's been checked in vain_  
_For a way to reach that light_  
_That light_

_As I move in deeper_  
_Towards this castle's keeper_  
_Every stair seems steeper_  
_Am I risking my own life?_  
_My life_

_Then a falcon in the air_  
_Looking down returns my stare_  
_While she's circling around_  
_Around_

_Then she dives straight towards a wall_  
_Then she isn't there at all_  
_And is gone without a sound_  
_No sound_

_I have no choice but to follow_  
_What was solid now is hollow_  
_Stairways hidden behind curtains_  
_Realizing nothing is certain_

_Suddenly upstairs I'm climbing_  
_Then through hallways twisted, winding_  
_This falcon on her endeavor_  
_Do these stairs just go forever on?_

Before she could start singing the last verse, the floor gave way beneath her. Natalie screamed as she fell; only just now remembering that, in the movie, these stairs had been booby-trapped. Apparently they were here too.

* * *

Erik sat at his organ, composing. He froze when he thought he heard something. Creeping towards the entrance to his lair, Erik realized there was indeed someone singing. And based on the voice, it was Natalie. Erik swore. How had she gotten down here?

Making his way up the stairs, Erik decided he had had enough of her games. This was going to end tonight; he would make sure of it.

A scream pierced the night. Erik rounded the corner just in time to see Natalie fall into his water trap. He was the only person who knew about the trap and the only one who knew she was in it. He could walk away now and be done with the whole business or save her. If he let her drown, then all of his secrets would die with her. But if she died, Christine would immediately suspect him. Erik wasn't sure if he could risk losing her trust. Erik only had a few seconds to decide if Natalie would live or die. He hesitated, and then made his decision.

* * *

Natalie's lungs felt like they were on fire. She was fighting every instinct to breathe, but she knew if she didn't get out of here soon, she would take a breath involuntarily. She wasn't sure which way was up anymore. Spots danced in front of her eyes, and Natalie knew she was finished.

Suddenly, a hand grasped her arm and hauled her up. Natalie took several lungfuls of air as soon as her head broke the surface. A white mask swam in her vision before everything turned black.

* * *

Erik stared at the girl in his arms. She was alive, but now he had to take care of her. Passing out was the last thing he expected Natalie to do. Now he couldn't scare her away or at least threaten her, although he had a feeling she wouldn't listen to him anyway. Finally Erik came up with a plan to make his point very clear. Scooping Natalie up in his arms, he headed back up to the dorms.

* * *

"I had the weirdest dream last night," Natalie announced.

"What happened?" Christine asked.

"I was going down some never-ending stairs, and just when I thought I had reached the bottom, the floor gave way and I drowned. The last thing I saw was the Phantom of the Opera."

"I told you, be careful. I don't want that dream to become real. The Phantom can be dangerous," her friend cautioned.

"Yeah, I know," Natalie muttered, running her fingers through her hair. She gasped when she realized it was slightly damp.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, go ahead and go to breakfast without me. I'll be down there in few minutes." After Christine left, Natalie began to search her room. Eventually, she found a parchment envelope tucked slightly under her mattress. She ripped it open and read the few words written.

_Next time you won't be so lucky._

_O.G._


	6. Chapter 6

As soon as rehearsals started, Natalie snuck away. She couldn't believe how stupid she was going to be, but apparently she had a death wish. Making sure no one could see her, Natalie snuck into Christine's dressing room. "Alrighty," she mumbled under her breath as she stood in front of the mirror. "How on earth do you work?"

Running her hands along the edge of the mirror, Natalie searched for some sort of lever that would reveal the secret passage to the Phantom's lair. With a sigh of frustration, Natalie crossed her arms and glared at her reflection in the glass. Finally she just pushed on the mirror, angry that she couldn't open it. To her surprise, it slid to the side, opening the passageway. "Of course it was that easy," Natalie said, rolling her eyes.

Pausing, Natalie considered the corridor in front of her. She was really pushing the Phantom's buttons, and going back down could have some serious consequences. At last she stepped through the door then slid the mirror back into place. "You know," she muttered to herself. "If you die in a dream, you wake up. But I'm not entirely sure I want to risk it, on the off chance this somehow isn't just all in my head."

Natalie cautiously made her way down the passageway. After last night, she was much more alert in looking for traps. And she was pretty darn sure that Erik wouldn't save her again, that is, if the trap didn't kill her instantly. But that didn't seem like Erik's style. She figured that if there were more, they would create a slow, painful death.

Eventually the stairs ended and Natalie was standing at the edge of a lake. "Now that's more like it," she said to herself. Then she frowned. "Oh crap!" There was no boat. It was probably back at the Phantom's lair, which meant she was going to have to get in the water. If there were traps, she would be totally vulnerable. It also meant that if the water got very deep, she was swimming.

Carefully Natalie edged her foot into the water. To her surprise, it only came up to her knee. She smiled; she could do this. Natalie sloshed her way to Erik's home.

* * *

Erik's pen flew across the paper as the song formed. He paused then sang the melody to himself to make sure it was perfect. Satisfied with what he had so far, Erik continued writing his opera. After he finished another phrase, Erik decided he'd better go see how the rehearsal was going. He frowned when he heard what sounded like splashing. Ripples in the water proved that someone was indeed tramping through the lake. Erik immediately knew who was coming. Crossing his arms, Erik stood at the edge of the water, waiting for Natalie.

"Either you are begging to die or you don't understand the art of subtlety," he said crossly as she came into view.

"That was subtle?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "If that was subtle, I'd hate to see blatantly obvious."

"You wouldn't live to see obvious. The rest of the opera house would find you hanging from the rafters," he snapped. "Give me one good reason I should let you live." Once again, he had her by her neck, although he wasn't completely cutting off her windpipe. Yet.

"Because," she said, trying to pry his fingers off her throat. "If you were going to kill me, you would've. This is the third time you've had the chance but you haven't yet. You could have killed me in the opera box. You could have left me to drown last night. But you didn't."

"That can be easily changed," Erik snarled, tightening his grip.

"Plus you're the one who wanted me here. Madame Giry said a person of influence wanted me around. She was talking about you." Erik squeezed even tighter, so Natalie's voice became a desperate whisper. "And you're curious. You want to know how I know so much about you. You want to know how I all your secrets. You want to know how I knew about you and Christine, how I knew to get down here, how I know your name." She began gasping in an attempt to get air into her lungs. "I can tell you," she rasped. "I can't promise that you'll believe me but I'll tell you."

Reluctantly, Erik released her. Natalie fell to the floor, trying to get her breath back. "Alright. Start talking," he ordered.

"Look, I wasn't kidding when I said I was from 2012. _The Phantom of the Opera_ is one of the biggest musicals in the world. It's one of the longest running on Broadway, West End, you name it. There are a gazillion and ten movies about you. And it's all based on one little book by Gaston Leroux written in 1910."

"Musicals? Broadway? Movies?"

"Doesn't matter. Point is, where I come from, _everyone_ knows who you are and what you've done. You're a zillion dollar business. But you're also one hundred percent fictional."

Erik stared at her in disbelief. "My God, you really are crazy. You are absolutely insane."

"I told you that you wouldn't believe me. I know it's sounds crazy and farfetched and totally implausible but it's the truth." Still on the ground, Natalie curled up into a ball and began to cry. "I swear it is. It's the truth."

Erik began to panic. It was obvious that Natalie was in a downward spiral. Usually she appeared to be in full control of her mental facilities, she was now spinning out of control. And since Natalie knew so much about him, Erik was worried that she could cause some serious damage. Not to mention that it was just plain cruel to do this to her. If he didn't calm her down and do it soon, it was very possible Natalie could truly go insane. Well, more so than she already was.

Kneeling next to her, Erik began to sing softly in an attempt to soothe her. He didn't think, just let the words fall from his lips.

_"And here in the night  
As I feel the inferno  
I stare in the dark  
Thinking what is eternal_

_The man or the moment_  
_The act or the reason_  
_These thoughts fill my head_  
_As I contemplate treason_

_Of dreams I have had_  
_And dreams I have pondered_  
_When late in the night_  
_My mind it would wander_

_To things I have done_  
_And then quickly regretted_  
_While denying vices_  
_My life had selected_

_And I think what I've done_  
_Or have yet to begin_  
_And the man I've become_  
_And the man that I've been_

_All I was_  
_Meant to be_  
_Could I_  
_Suddenly_  
_Just decide_  
_Not a thought_  
_Would survive_  
_Could it be_  
_My life's worth_  
_Ended there_  
_With my birth"_

Natalie slowly met his gaze. Her eyes were still filled with tears, but for the moment, they had stopped falling. Quietly, she began to sing a song of her own, although it was more to herself than to him.

"_Show me what it's like  
To be the last one standing  
And teach me wrong from right  
And I'll show you what I can be  
Say it for me  
Say it to me  
And I'll leave this life behind me  
Say it if it's worth saving me_

_Heaven's gates won't open up for me_  
_With these broken wings I'm fallin'_  
_And all I see is you_  
_These city walls ain't got no love for me_  
_I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story_  
_And oh I scream for you_  
_Come please I'm callin'_  
_And all I need from you_  
_Hurry I'm fallin', I'm fallin'"_

When Natalie's song ended, she wrapped her arms around her legs and pressed her face against her knees. "I'm sorry," Erik whispered. Natalie slowly raised her head to look at him. "My temper gets the better of me sometimes," he continued.

"I shouldn't said anything. Hell, I shouldn't have come down here at all. Now you're going to kill me," she moaned.

"No, you shouldn't have come," he said gently. "But I'm not going to hurt you."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"I'm not going to hurt you, and I can't exactly keep you down here forever; I have a feeling you would drive _me _crazy and besides, someone would notice. So I guess that means eventually I'm going to have to take you back upstairs."

Natalie curled back up and ignored everything he tried saying after. Finally, Erik walked back to his piano and began to play a lullaby. She was soon sleeping like a small child. Erik picked her up and placed her in his bed. He could take her upstairs again, but he wanted to make sure she would recover from this. As much as he didn't want her messing with his life, Erik also didn't want to absolutely traumatize her either. He had been through that; it was nothing but pain.


	7. Chapter 7

Natalie was freaking out. She had woken up in a strange place, and after a few moments she realized she was in Phantom's lair. Pretending to still be asleep, Natalie considered her situation. She was still alive, which meant that Erik hadn't killed her yet. Was this some sadistic torture method? Or was he going to let her live?

"Are you going to get up?" a voice asked. "Since you are awake." How had he known? Natalie buried her face in the pillows and pretended that she hadn't heard. Perhaps if she ignored him, this would all just go away. "Guess that means no," Erik muttered from across the room where he was writing.

Soon there was the sound of footsteps followed by silence. Natalie wondered if he had left. Perhaps if he was gone, then she could run upstairs to safety. She waited a few more minutes, just to make sure. When there hadn't been a sound besides her own breathing, Natalie flew out of the bed and ran. Straight into Erik. "Leaving so soon?" he asked dryly.

She squeaked in surprise. "I…I…" she stammered.

"Thought you could run away," he finished. "I was going to bring you back upstairs."

"Really?" Natalie was shocked.

"Just…"

"Just what?"

Erik sighed. "Just don't have another breakdown. At least down here I can control the damage you cause. Up there…well, you…"

"You don't trust me because I know about your past. You think I'm going to tell everyone about you, don't you?" she accused.

"Wouldn't you?"

"Touché. But I swear I won't. What would I gain from telling everyone about you?"

"Do you want to go upstairs or not?" Erik asked. Natalie could tell that he was still unnerved that he knew next to nothing about her.

"So you're not going to hurt me?"

"Would you like me to? Keep asking and I might."

"Sorry, just reiterating."

Erik rolled his eyes and extended his hand. "Are you coming?" Natalie hesitated then put her hand in his. He helped her into the boat and off they went.

"Um, what am I supposed to tell everyone? They're going to ask where I've been."

"Whatever you want. Just not the truth."

* * *

"Natalie!" Christine screamed when she saw her friend. "Where on earth have you been?"

"Wandering."

"Wandering where?"

"Where people wander."

"What were you doing?"

"Thinking."

"About what?"

"Stuff you think about while wandering." And that was the last Natalie would speak about the subject.

* * *

"What did you do?"

Erik stared at her innocently. "Madame Giry, I haven't the foggiest clue what you're talking about. Please, enlighten me."

Madame Giry narrowed her eyes at him. "She disappeared the other day and didn't reappear until the next morning. According to Meg and Christine, she has spoken with you before. Usually when people vanish, you're behind it."

"Well obviously I wasn't behind it because she obviously reappeared. If I make people disappear, they don't come back," Erik said curtly.

"Erik, she's barely said a word for the past three days. What did you do?" the ballet mistress demanded.

"I didn't do anything to her."

"Dammit! I saw the bruises!"

Erik flinched. He had too. They were hard to see, but if someone looked hard enough, there were indeed pale blue bruises around her neck from his hand. "What did you do?" Madame Giry hissed.

"Look, the night before she had fallen into a trap outside my home. She was lucky I saw her in time before she got hurt. I told her to stay away, but the next night she found another way in."

"Wait, how did she get down there?"

"I don't know. I certainly didn't want her down there."

"So what happened next?"

"I might have possibly lost control of my temper then she had a mental breakdown."

Madame Giry's eyes widened. "She what?"

"You heard me. So I kept her downstairs because I thought it would be better for her."

"You mean you think it was better for yourself."

"I never said…"

"You didn't need to," Madame Giry snapped.

Erik abruptly turned away and left the ballet mistress standing there. He didn't have to put up with this shit. Although he had noticed the sudden change in Natalie's personality over the past few days. She had become very quiet and withdrawn. He wondered if she would ever recover.

* * *

Natalie was lying curled up in a dark corner of the opera house. She could hear echoes of tonight's performance, but she just covered her ears. Her head was pounding and she wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. She jumped slightly when she realized she wasn't alone.

"You're not going to die are you?" Erik asked. "Madame Giry seems to think you are."

"No," she grumbled. "I'm not going to die. But I feel like it."

"I'm sorry."

Natalie stared at him in amazement. "Why? I got over you. I should've expected it. It was my own stupidity. I'm just in need of some serious caffeination. I've got some major withdrawal symptoms going on. It's also probably why I freaked out the other day."

"You need what?" Erik was in shock. She didn't look like she was into any drugs. Although that might explain her weird personality and delusions.

"Caffeine. Preferably in the form of pop. I have never gone more than twelve hours without it, especially Mountain Dew." She laughed at his confusion. "Sorry, weird talk again. Pop, also known as soda, is pretty much nothing but caffeine and sugar; therefore it is liquid energy. Mountain Dew is my favorite kind. Coffee is nasty tasting but it's also loaded with caffeine. It's probably the only source I can get in this funky place."

"You're serious?" Erik asked skeptically. "Madame Giry is after me because you need a cup of coffee?"

"Madame Giry's after you?"

"She seems to think that because you've been acting strangely, I must have shattered your mental capacity."

"Nope. Takes more than that to scare me."

"So if you get coffee, Madame Giry gets off my case? God I wish everything was that easy."


	8. Chapter 8

"You know what you need?" Natalie asked. It was the third time this week she was down here. Anymore she was a regular visitor, and Erik had given up trying to keep her away. Instead Erik just ignored her and continued playing piano. If there was anything he had learned in the past month, it was that Natalie would tell you whatever she wanted to, whether you cared or not. "You need a cat!"

Erik raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"

"Because it's so dark and gloomy and isolated down here. You should get a pet to liven things up. And dogs are require constant attention and are really noisy. A cat is quiet, cuddly when you want, doesn't mind being left alone at times. Plus they're a lot less messy."

"Isolated?" Erik asked with a laugh. "It's been anything but since you got here. In the past month, I have had more human contact than I have in the past five years."

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing," Natalie pouted. "If you don't want me down here, just say the word."

"If I did, would you leave?"

"Probably not. Least this way you aren't talking to yourself."

"No, instead I'm talking to the crazy girl with blue hair who claims she's from the future."

Natalie crossed her arms. "It's not all blue. It's just streaked with blue."

"There's still blue in your hair."

"I suppose that's true. But it's naturally blonde. But anyway, you should totally get a cat. Like a nice tabby. Actually, tabbies are ordinary. You'd need an extraordinary cat. You should get a Siamese cat. Those stand out."

Erik rolled his eyes. "Or I could just not get a pet. I'm a ghost. Ghosts don't have cats."

"It was just a thought. It's gotta get awful lonely pretending to be a phantom all the time."

"I don't have to pretend," Erik said simply. "I am a phantom. I am _the_ Phantom. And I don't get lonely. You're always after me now, and I do have Christine's lessons. I'm not a total recluse."

Natalie sat down next to him. "Yeah about her, do ever like talk to her?"

Erik stared at her blankly. "What do you mean? I'm teaching her to sing, of course we talk."

"No, I mean, like just talk. Do you know anything about her? Do you know her favorite color? Her favorite song? Anything? I see the way your eyes light up when you talk about her. You think you're in love with her Erik. And yet you next to nothing about her."

"Her favorite color is blue, like the sky. Her favorite song is _Think of Me_ from Hannibal. She lights up a candle every night to pray for her father who died when she was seven. She dreams of being the lead soprano, but she'd never dare to go up against Carlotta."

Natalie nodded, obviously impressed. Erik, however, had a strange look in his eyes. "What's with the creepy face?" Natalie asked.

The Phantom smiled. "I think it's about time the Opera Populaire got a new star."

"Whoa, Erik. You can't kick Carlotta out. The manager would never…"

"He doesn't have to. I can be pretty convincing when I want to be. Even if Lefèvre refuses to get rid of her, I can convince Carlotta to leave."

"Just don't hurt her. Or you'll have to deal with me," Natalie said sternly.

Erik rolled his eyes. "Because you're so frightening."

"I could tell everyone everything about you. Who you are, how to find you."

"But you won't. Even if you did, everyone thinks you're crazy. And on the off chance they actually believe you, I could just disappear. I am a ghost after all."

Natalie sighed. She wasn't going to win this fight. "Fine. You're going to promise you won't because it's the right thing to do, and despite what you think, you are actually a good person who wants to do the right thing. And Carlotta may be a bitch, but that doesn't give you the excuse."

Erik held his hands up in defeat. "Alright, alright. I won't. Jesus Christ, you're difficult." Natalie smiled smugly. If she couldn't win, he wasn't allowed to either. "Besides," Erik added. "I don't have to lay a finger on anyone to drive them crazy. Then again, you ought to know how easy it is to drive people up the wall, seeing as you're so good at it."

"I do try," she said with a grin.

* * *

"Will you quit following me?" Erik demanded a few weeks later. "Every time I turn around, you're there. Frankly Natalie, I'm sick of it."

She crossed her arms. "Nope, I'm gonna stick to you like white on rice. Or red on neck. Or fortune on cookies."

"What?" he asked exasperatedly.

"White on rice is a figure of speech. I just made up the other ones. But it means, I'm gonna stalk you. You promised me you wouldn't hurt Carlotta, so I'm going to hold you to that. That and it's fun to drive you out of your mind."

"Well you're succeeding," Erik muttered.

"So what's Carlotta's misery for today?" Natalie asked. "Going to ruin her costume again? Lock her out of her dressing room? Smash her perfume collection? Dye her dogs pink?"

"That's unfair to the animals. It's not their fault they're stuck with her. No there's a new production of _Hannibal _starting up. I think some of the scenery is going to be faulty."

Natalie dropped back, lost in thought. Something was important about Hannibal. Since she had been stuck here nearly two months now, Natalie had pretty much quit thinking about home and embraced life at the opera. All of a sudden, it hit her. She had to stop him. "Erik!" she hissed as he scampered through the riggings of the stage. "Erik, wait! This is a bad idea!"

He paused, his hand resting on the ropes that would send the scene crashing to the stage below. "What? It's clear. You're so damn insistent that no one gets hurt. It is perfectly clear down there."

"Look, it's one of those things that I know that I shouldn't, but I do know that…" her voice trailed off as she saw the manager announcing that he was retiring and that two new men, Andre and Firmin, would be taking over. Bad, bad, bad. The fact that they were there meant that the Vicomte de Chagny wasn't far behind. If she could convince Erik to keep Christine out of the spotlight, the Phantom would have a chance with her.

As Carlotta began to sing, Erik rolled his eyes. "I've had enough of this shit." He sent the scene crashing down, before pulling Natalie into the shadows, out of sight. The head scene shifter, Joseph Buquet, immediately came rushing up, but couldn't find them. He ran off swearing, determined to find the mysterious Phantom of the Opera.

Down on stage, Carlotta was throwing one of her famous tantrums before storming out of the opera. Since there was no understudy, Madame Giry was able to convince the new managers to have Christine take the lead. Triumph glittered in Erik's eyes. But Natalie knew that unless she could somehow change the story, this was the beginning of the end. "Carlotta's going to come back you know," she whispered.

"Not if she knows what's good for her," Erik replied.


	9. Chapter 9

_Hey everyone it's me. Thanks for all your amazing reviews. Sorry about the delay. I like to be a regular updater but I was on vacation in Florida with a strict no computers rule. Thanks for all you patience. Please read and let me know what you think!_

_~nibblesfan_

* * *

"She's good," Natalie whispered to Erik as Christine made her grand debut.

"Well I should hope so," he replied. "I trained her." His face radiated joy as Christine finished the aria. It was the happiest Natalie had even seen Erik. But as she looked over to the managers' box, Natalie could see the one person who could destroy everything for the Phantom.

"C'mon." She grabbed Erik's hand and pulled him out of the box. "She always goes straight to the chapel after a performance. You can be the first to congratulate her."

Like clockwork, as soon as the curtain fell, Christine arrived and lit a candle next to her father's picture. Beaming with pride, Erik began to praise his prodigy. Before he could get out more than "Bravo" Meg burst into the room and pulled Christine away, chattering about how amazing she had been. The two disappeared, and Natalie and Erik climbed out of their hiding spot.

"Um, okay, I guess you can meet her in her dressing room," Natalie said with a shrug. But they arrived to see the Vicomte de Chagny enter.

"Who is that?" Erik wondered aloud.

"Uh, his name is Raoul de Chagny. He's a Vicomte."

"The new patron?" Erik asked incredulously. "Why is he in Christine's dressing room?"

Natalie sighed. "One: Christine was on stage and impressed him. Two: he is what is called a suitor. Three: he and Christine were childhood sweethearts and he wants to restart their old romance. Four: to make a long story short, he wants in your girl's pants."

Erik frowned. "What does that last one mean?"

"It means you've got competition and Raoul's got history with her," Natalie explained. "It means if you are to have any chance with that girl, you need to get a move on."

"I am her Angel of Music," he replied. "If I tell her to send that foolish boy away, she will."

"It doesn't work quite like that," Natalie interrupted.

Erik ignored her and kept talking. "Christine and I have a connection that no one else will ever be able to dream of matching."

"They have history…" she began but once again, he cut her off.

"He can't even dream…"

"Erik…"

"That she would ever…"

"Erik!"

"Even consider choosing him over me._ I_ taught her to sing._ I_ brought her up from nothing. _I_ made her a star. What has he done? Nothing. Christine _owes_ it to me."

Natalie sighed again. Erik was off on another one of his rants. If she was going to talk sense into him, she needed to get him to shut up first. She grabbed his collar and pressed his lips against hers. What felt like an electric shock ran through her and Natalie immediately released Erik. "Now are you going to let me speak?" she demanded.

He stared at her, his mouth hanging open. "What…what was that?"

"Somebody needed to make you think through this logically and you wouldn't shut up. That was a way to get your attention."

"Oh."

"Look at me. Now picture him. Now picture Christine. Think about this. Raoul is a real live human being. You're not. _I_ know you are, but Christine doesn't. She thinks you're an angel, a voice in her head. For all intents and purposes you don't exist. You aren't a person. Right now she's in there telling Raoul about you, and he is laughing because he thinks it's a game. That gives him the advantage. As long as you remain an angel to her, you stand zero chance of ever getting her. You have to prove to her that you're a person too. You have to give up the game in order to be with her."

"You're saying I have to reveal that everything I've told her is a lie."

"If you want her, then yes. You have to show her that you're not an angel, you're Erik and that Erik is even better than an angel."

He hesitated then nodded. "Alright."

She hugged him. "Good luck! Go knock her dead. Wait! No, that'd be bad! Oh you know what I mean." Erik laughed at her then disappeared.

A few moments later, Raoul exited Christine's room obviously in good spirits. Natalie ducked out of sight to avoid being spotted. The second he was out of sight, Natalie slumped up against the wall. Wrapping her arms around herself, she wondered what she was going to do. When she had kissed Erik, she had definitely felt some serious chemistry. Like if she were in _Moulin Rouge_, the moon would be singing kind of chemistry. But she wasn't in _Moulin Rouge_; she was in _Phantom of the Opera_. And said phantom had gone chasing after Christine. But Natalie supposed it was for the best. After all, she had already decided that she was going to help Erik win over Christine. Besides, she didn't really belong in this story anyway. None of the various versions had a blue-haired crazy girl in them.

The sound of footsteps shook Natalie out of her thoughts. Raoul was coming back, assumingly for Christine. But by now, Erik must have taken her down to his home. "Looking for someone Monsieur?" she asked innocently.

Raoul jumped, obviously not realizing she was there. "Actually I'm here to escort Miss Daae to dinner."

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "Christine?" He nodded. "You can't."

Her remark seemed to surprise him. "And why not?"

"Because she's with her music teacher. They're off celebrating."

"Ah yes, the Angel of Music. Now seriously, I told Christine I was taking her out so we could catch up on old times. We knew each other as children."

"Good for you," Natalie retorted. "But I'm telling you that you are S.O.L. So outta luck. She is G-O-N-E. Guess you're going to have to find someone else to take to dinner."

Raoul pushed past her and opened the dressing room door. "Christine!" He looked around the now deserted room. "She's gone!" he exclaimed in shock.

"Thank you Sherlock for your keen insight," Natalie said sarcastically. "Have fun at dinner." Whistling, she strode away from the Vicomte. He really was a hopeless fop.


	10. Chapter 10

Erik stared at his organ, his mind whirling at a thousand miles an hour. Christine was sleeping, and he was afraid to wake her. Last night he had kept her hypnotized by his voice, not yet ready to reveal the full truth to her. But Erik knew that he couldn't keep her like that forever. Eventually Christine would fight her way out of it, or Natalie would force him to let her go. And besides, he didn't want a mindless puppet; he wanted Christine's love freely given.

His thoughts turned back to Natalie. He couldn't believe she had kissed him. No one ever had, not even his own mother. Reaching up and touching his mask gently, Erik was certain that if she knew what lay underneath, she would never have dared. But he couldn't get that kiss out of his head. She had acted like it was nothing but it certainly didn't feel like nothing. Was it because it was his first or was it because there was something more? Erik glanced back at Christine. It was just because he had never been kissed he decided. Erik leaned back and tried to think about something else. Anything else.

Suddenly there was a hand touching his face, and before he could react, Christine ripped off his mask. "Damn you!" he shouted, knocking her to the ground, although he wasn't sure who he was screaming at. Yes, Christine had revealed his face, but he should have been expecting that. He also had grown used to Natalie who had never even mentioned the mask so his guard was down. Christine cowered in fear from his rage, but Erik realized he had no one to blame but himself.

Keeping his hand over his deformity, Erik sat down next to her heavily. "Oh Christine," he sighed. She stared at him, waiting for his next move, but Erik just stayed put. Slowly Christine reached out towards him causing Erik to recoil until he saw that she was only offering him his mask. The fear in her eyes only strengthened the disgust Erik had for himself. Why couldn't he look like a normal person?

After he had replaced his mask, Erik held out his hand to Christine. "Come, we must return. Those two fools who run my theater will be missing you." She hesitated then slowly accepted. Erik helped her into the boat and the two set off for the upstairs world.

* * *

Natalie was extremely amused by the screaming match going on. It was Raoul versus Carlotta and Piangi with the managers trying to keep everyone calm, and they were therefore yelled at by both the Vicomte and the opera stars. Raoul was looking for Christine and he seemed to think the managers knew where she was. Carlotta was throwing a fit because she assumed that Raoul was threatening her time in the spotlight when it was really Erik. And Andre and Firmin just plain didn't believe in the Opera Ghost and were getting sick of what they believed was a practical joke. Natalie was wondering if they had popcorn back in the 1800's because this was better than any movie in 2012.

Just as things were getting really good, Madame Giry and Meg appeared and announced that Christine had returned. The ballet mistress also had a note insisting that Christine star in tonight's production of _Il Muto_. This caused the screaming to increase tenfold. Carlotta was outraged by this, claiming Raoul was trying to replace her with his "lover." The managers were begging the prima donna to return to the stage. Madame Giry was trying to talk to talk sense into everyone, but was being ignored. And the idiotic Raoul was just trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

Finally it was decided that Carlotta would remain the lead and, to appease her, Christine would be given a silent role. Raoul announced that they shouldn't give in to the Phantom's demands and that he would be sitting in Box Five. Everyone satisfied, the group dispersed. Natalie slipped behind Raoul and in a sing-song voice called out, "That's not a good idea."

Raoul jumped again and turned. "You again?"

Natalie smiled. "Me."

"What do you want?"

"Just telling you that you aren't the brightest. Ask anyone here and they'll tell you not to piss off the Phantom. And he really doesn't seem to like you. People who get on his bad side seem to have an unusual amount of…" Natalie paused for dramatic effect. "Accidents."

Raoul's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Wait a second. They told me about you. Natalie right? They said you're crazy."

"Doesn't mean I can't give you advice. And I'm telling you, stay out of Box Five or bad things will happen," Natalie warned.

"Thanks but no thanks," he snapped. "I don't need any advice from you."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Fine. Ask Madame Giry, or Meg. Ask anyone here. Hell, ask Christine. Everyone here will tell you that messing with the Opera Ghost is not a good thing."

"I can fend for myself thank you very much."

"Whatever. It's your neck on the line, not mine," Natalie said with a shrug.

Raoul started to walk away, realized what she just said, paused, and then turned back to her. "Wait, what did you just say?" he asked.

She smiled mischievously. "Oh nothing. But don't say I didn't warn you."

Since Madame Giry said that Christine had returned, Natalie decided she was going to go talk to Erik to find out how things went. She double-checked to make sure no one was following her then made her way down to the lair of the Opera Ghost.

When she got closer, Natalie heard a crash, as if something heavy had been thrown. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" she heard Erik shouting. Apparently things hadn't gone so well. She reached the door that led inside his home just as something was hurled at it. Natalie picked the object up and saw that it was Erik's white leather mask. Glancing in the room, she could see Erik pacing angrily, his back to her. Next to him, several candlesticks were scattered across the floor like he had swept them off the table in a fit of rage. That must have been the crash she had heard.

"Erik?" she called.

Immediately he turned, but only enough that she could see the good side of his face. "Dammit," he swore when he saw her. "What are you doing down here?"

"I came to see how you were doing. What's wrong?"

"Hasn't she told you already?" Erik asked bitterly.

"I don't want to hear it from her. I want to hear it from you."

She came closer but his hand shot up and covered his face before Natalie could see. He sighed. "I terrify her. She pulled off my mask; she must have thought it was a joke or something. But she saw me, she saw me. Then to make matters worse, I lost it. I screamed at her, God, I threw her to the ground. She must think I'm a monster. Some terrible beast."

Erik turned away, ashamed of what he had done but he made sure to keep the deformed half of his face covered by his hand. Natalie walked up to him and placed her hand gently on top of his. With her other hand, she offered him his mask making her message very clear. If he didn't want her to see what usually laid beneath his mask, Natalie would respect his decision. Erik slowly raised his eyes to meet hers, and for a few minutes they stared at each other in silence. Then slowly, gently Erik lowered his hand to reveal his face. To his surprise, Natalie showed no sign of fear or disgust or any change in emotion. "You're not a monster," she whispered.


	11. Chapter 11

Natalie curled up in the shadows of upper riggings of the stage. Earlier she had managed to convince Erik that it was for the best if he didn't come to tonight's performance. She hadn't mentioned that his demands were being ignored, but if he wasn't here, he wouldn't find out. However the show was _Il Muto_, which meant in the movie, Joseph Buquet was supposed to be killed, so Natalie was up here as a precaution. If Erik came up here, she'd be able to spot him and prevent the murder. But she wasn't supposed to be up here, which is why Natalie was hiding.

Actually the show turned out to be quite good, minus the fact Carlotta was singing. Natalie couldn't believe that so many people came to listen to her squeal. Natalie shifted in her seat, but lost her balance and fell. Not down to the stage, but to the platforms where the scene shifters worked, maybe 5 feet or so. She got up and quickly tried to scramble back to her hiding spot, but before she could get up, a hand grabbed her. "What are you doing up here?"

She turned and saw Joseph Buquet. "I, uh, got lost," Natalie stammered. "I was just leaving."

"Not so fast," he snarled. "What are you really doing up here? Causing mischief? Helping the Phantom?"

Natalie laughed nervously. "The Phantom? Why would you think I'd be helping him? I don't even know the Phantom. I've never seen him," she lied.

"Oh really? Then pray tell where do you disappear to every day in rehearsal huh? Nobody ever sees you during the day, it's like you vanish off the face of the earth. You're in league with him."

"Me? Oh no. I just like exploring that's all. And this place is so huge it's so easy to get lost. In fact, that's how I wound up here. Now if you'll excuse me, I really must be going…"

Buquet forced her back around to face him. "No," he said. "Do stay. You may be helping that damned ghost, but you're really very pretty." He reached up and began to stroke her hair. "And I'd hate to let such a pretty girl go to waste. Especially one that comes up here so willingly."

Warning sirens began going off in Natalie's head. She tried pulling away but his grip on her was too tight. Buquet grabbed her dress strings and began trying to untie them. Natalie looked around frantically but there was no one there to help her. She was alone. But she wasn't totally defenseless. Thinking fast, Natalie kneed him in the groin, causing Buquet to double over. She turned to run, but he managed to twist his fingers in her long hair and drag her back to him. "Feisty one aren't ya?" he growled. "I like it."

Natalie began hitting his chest, but to no avail. "No!" she cried. "No!"

* * *

Erik ducked out of sight as soon as he had switched the bottles. He was infuriated that Carlotta was given the lead, so he swapped her throat spray with one of his own concoctions. One that should ruin her voice for the night, forcing the managers to give Christine the role. Not that it really mattered. That damn boy was in his box, and none of Erik's usual tricks had scared him away.

He had promised Natalie that he wouldn't come, but he just couldn't stay away. He knew that the managers wouldn't obey him, and if he let it slide once, they'd never listen to him. That and he wanted, no _needed, _to see Christine again. Needed, Erik reminded himself. He loved her. High above the theater, he began to pace, waiting for his mixture to destroy Carlotta's evening in the spotlight.

"No!" he heard a very familiar feminine voice exclaim. "Let me go!" Erik looked up and saw Joseph Buquet ripping Natalie's dress off of her as she tried in vain to escape. But Natalie wasn't nearly as strong as the much larger man and was helpless.

Erik knew that Buquet had considered himself a one-man Opera Ghost hunting team. If he could just lead him away from her. But how could he without being discovered? Looking around the theater for any ideas, Erik once again found himself staring at the Vicomte who was in his spot and he came up with a plan. "Box Five was to be kept empty," he boomed. The rest of the theater fell silent, and Buquet paused to look around.

But Carlotta didn't let the quiet last long. She tried to pick back up where they had stopped, but Erik's potion had kicked in, and she began to croak like a frog. With chaos down on the stage below, Buquet turned his attention back to Natalie.

His original plan having failed, Erik started to run as Buquet pressed his mouth against Natalie's in a forced kiss. Apparently she bit his lip, because Buquet pulled away with a cry of fury. Natalie then proceeded to spit in Buquet's face. "You little bitch," he roared, pulling her dress away and revealing her corset. When Buquet reached for that, Erik skidded to a halt behind them.

"No!" Erik shouted. Before anyone could react, Erik had slipped his Punjab lasso around Buquet's neck, and the scene shifter was hanging above the stage. A hundred screams mixed with Natalie's as his body crashed down.

"Natalie? Natalie are you alright?" Erik asked. She pulled her dress around herself then turned and ran. "Natalie!" he cried before giving chase.

The two wound their way through the opera, climbing higher and higher, until Natalie disappeared through the door that led to the roof. Erik dashed through right behind her, but the rooftop was empty. Panic engulfed him. Had she jumped? "Natalie?"

A strangled sob came from one of the many statues. So she was here, she was hiding. But hiding from who? From him? Before Erik could find out, the door opened again, forcing him to disappear as well. To his surprise, it was Christine and Raoul. This couldn't be good.

Erik was right. Christine thought he had killed Buquet because of her. Erik really was a monster in her eyes. And that damn boy was there, full of promises, full of hope, full of light for Christine. It was no surprise when they kissed and exchanged those dreaded three words. Erik watched in horror as his beloved Christine told Raoul how much she loved him. When they left, Erik briefly considered following them, but another sob stopped him.

* * *

Natalie wrapped her arms around herself to try and stop shaking. She doubted it was from the cold even though it was snowing outside. On the other side of the statue she could hear Christine crying as well, except she had Raoul and Natalie had no one to comfort her.

She couldn't believe Buquet was dead. Natalie had gone there to stop his death, and instead she had caused it. Before tonight, she had never truly believed Erik was a killer, but when she saw the crazed look in his eyes, Natalie realized he was capable of truly terrible deeds. And it scared her.

Back in school, Natalie had read _Macbeth_. One of the characters had been constantly washing her hands in her sleep, trying to cleanse herself of her involvement in a murder. At the time, Natalie had laughed. Now, however, she saw that she was doing the same thing. But she knew it would never change anything; she couldn't bring him back.

"Natalie?" She looked up and saw Erik staring at her, concern in his eyes.

"You killed him," she said numbly. "I knew you were a lot of things, but I never once thought you were a murderer."

He reached out, but Natalie shied away. "I don't know what you want me to say," he said exasperatedly.

Just then, they both looked up. They could hear Raoul and Christine singing, pledging their love. Jealously flashed across Erik's face. He looked as if he was going to go after them. Natalie shot up and stood defiantly in front of the door. "I want you to say…no, I want you to swear that you will not hurt anyone else here. Even Raoul. One murder was too many."

"I promise. But I was just trying to protect you."

Natalie took a shaky breath. "I know. But that didn't mean you needed to kill."

Again Erik reached out, as if to comfort her. Natalie's eyes widened. "No!" she cried. "Don't touch me!" He immediately recoiled. Betrayal was written across his face, and Natalie knew she had crossed a line. She had dehumanized him into an animal, just like every other person on earth.

Erik turned on his heel and fled, leaving Natalie totally alone. She burst into tears. She hadn't meant to hurt him, but all she could see was Joseph Buquet's blood on his hands.

* * *

With a crash, the chair toppled over. Erik was throwing anything and everything he could get his hands on. Music was scattered everywhere. His home was a disaster. He should have known better. He should have known it was too good to last. He should have known no one would ever accept him. Once again, Erik was feeling the sting of rejection. Every time he was willing to trust someone, it blew up in his face. Every single time. He should be used to it by now, especially after Christine this morning. And yet, somehow, the loss of Natalie hurt him more than losing Christine.

* * *

Natalie wasn't sure how much time had passed until Meg and Madame Giry found her. She was cold, wet, and covered in snow. They brought her inside and wrapped the shaking girl in blankets. "What happened?" Madame Giry asked. Natalie glanced at Meg before staring hard at the floor. The ballet mistress sent her daughter away before repeating the question.

"I…I had a bad feeling. I knew something bad was going to happen to Joseph Buquet, and I knew that the Phantom was involved. Don't ask me how I know, I just did. I thought maybe if I was up there, I could stop it. Buquet found me and he tried…he tried…" Natalie swallowed hard, unable to finish the sentence. "The Phantom stopped him. He…he killed Buquet. He saved me, and then I treated him like a monster. I'm despicable." She hung her head and let the tears fall. "He was just trying to protect me."

"So what are you going to do now?" Madame Giry asked.

Natalie stood up. "I'm going to go find him. I need to tell him how sorry I am. I know he might not forgive me. And I understand if he can't. But I can't live with myself if he thinks I think he's an animal."


	12. Chapter 12

Natalie was hysterical. "Oh my God, oh my God, Erik you have to wake up!" She shook him, but he didn't stir. "Erik! Wake up please!" she begged. When she came down, Natalie had found his home in ruins as she expected, but she found him on the floor unconscious. There was no blood, no visible injuries, and he was breathing, so she knew he was alive.

Running her hands through her hair, Natalie went through all possible situations in her head. When she found Erik, he was sprawled in the middle of the floor, and she had screamed loud enough to wake the dead, so he definitely wasn't asleep. He didn't appear to be hurt, so attempted suicide wasn't likely. In Susan Kay's version of events, Erik was addicted to opium and later morphine, but Natalie had never seen Erik under the influence of anything or ever found anything resembling drugs. Then another thought hit her. Surely not!

After several minutes of searching, Natalie found it under his desk. She peered inside the bottle, and like she suspected, it was nearly empty. "Way to go Natalie," she muttered to herself. "You've officially fucked this up, and now he's drunk off his ass. You really are a pathetic waste of space that can sink no lower. Poor Erik what have I done?"

Obviously she wasn't going to be able to beg for forgiveness tonight, but Natalie didn't want to just leave him there on the floor. She wrapped her arms around his chest and dragged him across the room, where she somehow managed to heave him onto his bed. Pulling the blankets around him, Natalie gently tucked him in. She couldn't believe she was doing what Erik had done for her almost two months ago, except he didn't hate her then. Had it only been that long? Natalie felt like she had been here her whole life. She turned to leave; there was no point in her staying, Erik needed to sleep off the alcohol.

"No!"

She whirled back around. Erik was tossing and turning violently in his sleep. "No!" he shouted again. "Don't! Please!"

Natalie rushed back to his side. "Erik, wake up! Everything's fine. It's just a dream!"

"Give me back my mask! Please!" Something in his voice was different. It was almost childish. "I'm sorry, I won't do it again. I promise." With a gasp, Natalie realized Erik must be having a flashback. "Stop! I'll do whatever you want, just please quit hurting me," he sobbed. Natalie's heart broke. Erik was always so calm, so in-control and to see him like this was just too much for her to bear. He saved her when she needed him, and now it was time for Natalie to protect him while he was at his most vulnerable. She sat on the edge of the bed and cradled Erik's quivering body in her lap like he was a small child.

"_I remember tears streaming down your face  
When I said, 'I'll never let you go'  
When all those shadows almost killed your light  
I remember you said, 'Don't leave me here alone'  
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight_

_Just close your eyes_  
_The sun is going down_  
_You'll be alright_  
_No one can hurt you now_  
_Come morning light_  
_You and I'll be safe and sound_

_Don't you dare look out your window darling_  
_Everything's on fire_  
_The war outside our door keeps raging on_  
_Hold on to this lullaby_  
_Even when the music's gone_  
_Gone_

_Just close your eyes_  
_The sun is going down_  
_You'll be alright_  
_No one can hurt you now_  
_Come morning light_  
_You and I'll be safe and sound"_

The song wasn't even close to a perfect fit, but it was the best Natalie could come up with. It seemed to do the trick however. Erik relaxed with the lullaby and fell into a much more peaceful sleep as Natalie finished.

_"Just close your eyes_  
_You'll be alright_  
_Come morning light_  
_You and I'll be safe and sound..."_

Natalie could feel tears roll down her cheeks again. She felt like she was crying more tonight than the entire rest of her life. She couldn't believe that this was all her fault. Bowing her head, Natalie began to sing again.

"_My best friend was a good man  
__but Lord I think he sinned  
__He cries 'Forgive me for what I've done  
Cause I never meant the things I did'_

_And give me something to believe in  
if there's a Lord above  
And give me something to believe in  
Oh, Lord arise_

_I tried all night not_  
_to break down and cry_  
_as the tears rolled down my face_  
_I felt so cold and empty_  
_like a lost soul out of place_  
_And the mirror, mirror on the wall_  
_sees my smile it fades again_

_And give me something to believe in  
if there's a Lord above  
And give me something to believe in  
Oh, Lord arise_

_Sometimes I wish to God_  
_I didn't know now_  
_The things I didn't know then_

_And give me something to believe in_  
_if there's a Lord above_  
_And give me something to believe in_  
_Oh, Lord arise_

_You take the high road  
and I'll take the low road_

_Sometime I wish to God_  
_I didn't know now_  
_the things I didn't know then_

_And give me something to believe in"_

* * *

_Hey everybody, it's me again. I'm a loser with no life now that school's out and my vacation is over so I'm probably going to be updating at least once a day if not more. Thank you once more for all you amazing reviews, it's really helped my confidence as a writer. If it weren't for you guys, I probably would have trashed this idea pretty quickly. Just wanted to tell you all that I tinkered around with the second song to make it fit better. All the lines are somewhere in the song but I patched together the first verse from various lines and a few verses got cut out. And if you didn't notice, it's actually the song that gave me the insperation for this story. I heard the verse about the mirror and being a lost soul out of place and I thought of Erik and the story just built from there. If anyone cares, the song is called "Something to Believe In" by the band Poison. If you can't tell, I have really retro tastes in music (which is why Natalie partially does too, it's what I'm most comfortable with). Anyway, you're all now sick of hearing me ramble by now so I'll stop. Thanks again for everything, it means the world to me!_

_~nibblesfan_


	13. Chapter 13

Erik's head was pounding, and his body felt like lead. The light bothered him even more than usual. He rolled over with a groan, maybe he would just lay here until it all went away. Natalie snuggled up closer, placing her head on his chest. Wait. Natalie? He pulled away in surprise and with a yelp, fell out of bed and crashed to the floor. "Whoa! What? You?" he sputtered.

Natalie peered over the edge of the bed to look down at him. "You alright?"

"I'm missing something here!" What was she doing down here, in his bed, with him? And why couldn't he remember anything?

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Like shit," Erik replied honestly as Natalie helped him off the floor. "My head is killing me, I think I'm going to be sick, and on top of it all, I'm as confused as hell." He sat next to her, his head in his hands.

"I'll make you some tea," Natalie said. "That ought to help."

"What the heck happened?"

"How much do you remember?"

Erik closed his eyes and thought back. "Buquet's dead. I killed him because he was going to hurt you. Then I followed you up to the roof. You…" He rubbed his temples, trying to remember. "How does you screaming at me lead to you in my bed?" Another thought hit him. "And do I dare ask what happened once you were in it?"

"Don't get your shirttails in a bunch. I came down here to find you scarily drunk." She held up an empty bottle. Erik flinched, that had been unopened before. "You were in no condition to be left alone. So I stayed with you to make sure you were okay. I must have fallen asleep."

"What do you mean by scary?" Erik asked nervously. He never had had so much alcohol in his entire life. If he really had drunk the whole bottle, there was no telling what he did.

"I was terrified. Not of you, _for_ you. I came down here, and I found you on the floor. You weren't moving and wouldn't wake up. At first, I thought you tried to kill yourself."

Something tugged at Erik's memory. "I think I thought about it," he admitted.

"When I found the bottle and realized you had been drinking, I managed to get you in bed so you could sleep it off." Natalie hesitated; there was more to this story. "You started having nightmares. I couldn't leave you like that, so I stayed. It seemed to help you."

Erik nodded, it made sense. Nightmares weren't uncommon for him. And if he was drunk, it was to be almost guaranteed. "What were you doing coming back here?" he inquired.

"I came to say 'I'm sorry.'" Natalie fell at his feet and rested her head against his knee. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she moaned. "As soon as I said it, I wished I could take it back. I didn't mean it, I didn't. I am so sorry. Can you forgive me?"

He reached down and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Yes."

She stared at him in bewilderment. "Really?"

"Yes." Erik pulled her to her feet and brought her close. "I do. You were scared. But I have to ask. Can you forgive me?"

"Forgive you? Forgive you for what?"

"Based on your night, you shouldn't have had to take care of me on top of everything else. I obviously had you very worried."

Natalie gave him a watery smile. "I forgive you Erik."

He gently wiped away a tear that began to roll down her cheek. "Don't cry," he said. "It's alright. Everything's okay."

She stood up and rubbed her eyes. "I'll go get you that tea."

A few minutes later, Natalie handed him a cup. "Just a warning, I've never made tea before. Hopefully it doesn't kill you."

Erik smiled. "Please, its tea. Anyone can make it." He took a sip. Immediately, his stomach began to roll. It took all of his willpower to keep his already queasy stomach under control and not get sick. "Never mind," he said weakly. "Apparently not everyone can make tea."

"Oh God, I'm sorry." Natalie pulled the cup out of his hands.

"You seem to be saying that an awful lot today. But that one really was my fault. You did warn me." He closed his eyes again as his stomach continued to rebel. "I am never doing that again."

"Erik, maybe you should take a break."

"What do you mean?" he asked. "A break from what?"

"Being a Phantom. Last night was out of control. Maybe you should take a few weeks off, just to relax, think things through. A chance to rest."

"And do what?" he asked. "My whole life is being the Phantom. What else can I do?"

"You don't spend all you time being a ghost. You compose, you draw, you play instruments. You have a gazillion hobbies. And I'm not asking you quit for long. Just some time to focus."

"Alright," Erik agreed. "Maybe some time away would be a good thing. On one condition."

"What's that?" Natalie asked.

"You try to stay out of trouble upstairs. I don't want you getting hurt."

Natalie smiled. "Yes, of course."

"Okay, looks like the Opera Ghost is on vacation." He paused. "You said you were down here all night with me?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"You need to get out of here. Someone else is bound to notice." Erik walked her to the door, but Natalie paused and looked back at him, uncertainty on her face. "Go," he urged. "I'll be fine."

* * *

"Natalie how are you feeling?" Christine asked. The whole opera house was abuzz with talk of Joseph Buquet's "suicide" or so it was ruled by the police, so Natalie was surprised Christine was asking. "Meg said they found you half frozen on the roof. What happened?"

"I ran up there after the murder. I guess I just kind of spaced off."

"Raoul and I were up there. We didn't see you."

"It took me a while to find it," Natalie said with a shrug. "I kept getting lost."

"Well that makes sense," Meg replied. "I didn't see you in bed last night, but Mother says you slept in her office."

"Yeah, I fell asleep in there. Guess she didn't want to wake me," she lied. She was surprised that Madame Giry was helping her cover her tracks. Then Natalie realized she shouldn't be; the ballet mistress was the one person who had helped Erik in the past.

"Christine!" Natalie looked up and saw Raoul running up. He slowed when he saw Natalie. "Oh, hello," he said coolly.

"Natalie this is Raoul. Raoul this is my friend Natalie," Christine said pleasantly, not seeing Raoul's shocked expression.

"Friend?" he asked incredulously.

Natalie reached out and grabbed his hand. "Yes. It's so good to finally meet you. Christine has told us so much about you," she bubbled. "I'm sure we'll all get along fabulously."

"And this is Meg," Christine finished.

Raoul nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Mademoiselle."

"It's good to meet you Monsieur."

"We're going to a café for coffee," Natalie said. "I'm a bit of an addict. Would you care to join us?" she asked cheerily.

"Do say you'll come!" Christine begged.

"No, no. Don't let me intrude," Raoul replied, holding his hands up. "I don't want to be a burden."

"Oh, but it's not at all." Natalie grinned. "I've heard Christine tell us about you, but I want to hear about you from you."

"It'll be fun," Meg added.

"C'mon. It won't hurt." Christine pulled the flustered Vicomte along.

Meg and Natalie exchanged glances with identical grins. Natalie knew that Meg genuinely wanted to learn more about Christine's sweetheart. Natalie however, really couldn't care less. Raoul glanced back at her. She smiled and mouthed the words _watch out, you're next_. His eyes widened. Natalie knew Erik had sworn not to hurt anyone else, but that didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun.


	14. Chapter 14

"Look at all this snow! It's so pretty!" Natalie cried in delight. Their little trip to the coffee shop had turned into an all day trek around Paris, dragging Raoul along for the ride. But of course he would never deny Christine anything, which was probably the only reason he was still here listening to them babble.

"The park is always beautiful in the winter," Meg agreed, looking around at the ice covered trees. "It's one of my favorite seasons."

"Remember when we were younger?" Raoul asked. "In the winter we'd play outside in the snow for hours."

Christine smiled. "We had an entire village of igloos and built an army of snow people. Then when it got late, we'd have hot chocolate and Father would tell us one of his stories."

"Sounds like fun," Meg said.

"It was," Christine replied dreamily, lost in memories.

"Know what else sounds like fun?" Natalie asked. She scooped up some snow off the ground and threw it.

Christine and Meg gasped as Raoul wiped the snow off his face. Everyone waited for his reaction. "It. Is. On," he said with a mischievous smile before returning fire.

The two exchanged snowballs for a few seconds until a rouge snowball hit Christine and Meg. "Raoul!" Christine squealed, brushing snow off her dress. The Vicomte dropped the ammo in his hand and rushed forward. As soon as he reached her, Christine tackled him. The next thing anyone knew, all four of them were exchanging snowballs and rolling in the snow, giggling like children.

* * *

"How does an Opera Ghost take a vacation?" Erik wondered aloud. For the past several years, he had done little else besides terrorizing the Opera House and teaching Christine to sing. Now because of his own stupidity and the various promises he made to Natalie, he could do neither.

_Natalie_. Her face bloomed in his mind. When he woke up with her in his bed he had been surprised, yet he wasn't upset. Immediately he forced himself to recant that thought. Christine was the woman he loved. Not Natalie. Natalie was…well he wasn't entirely sure what Natalie was. A friend? A sister figure?

Erik remembered her crying. All he had wanted to do was hold her and comfort her. She had done so much for him, and she accepted him for who he was. No one had ever tried reaching out to him like Natalie had. No one, not even Christine. No. Erik knew he had to stop comparing them. It wasn't fair to them. Not to Natalie, not to Christine.

He sighed in frustration. Erik grabbed some paper and began to draw. He needed to get his mind off of them. Without allowing himself to think, Erik's pen flew across the paper. Hours passed in the blink of an eye. He leaned back, massaging a knot that developed in the back of his neck. Glancing down Erik finally processed what he had drawn. "Thought you weren't going to think about them," he muttered angrily to himself. The sound of footsteps echoed down. Erik crumpled the picture into a ball and stashed it in a drawer as Natalie came into view.

"Hey Erik! How's your holiday going?"

"I have more time than I know what to do with," he lied smoothly. "I suppose I'll just get used to…Natalie, why are you all wet?" Her dress was wet and covered in snow, her cheeks were pink from the cold, and she was shivering slightly. Erik leaped up and grabbed his cloak for her.

"We were playing in the snow outside," Natalie explained as he wrapped her in the warm fabric. "Guess I didn't really think about the whole cold and wet aspect that happens when the snow melts."

"We?"

"Me, Christine, Meg." She paused. "And Raoul." Erik could feel his jaw tighten. "But you should've seen his face when I threw a snowball at him. The high and mighty Vicomte with his face spattered with snow. His expression was priceless." Erik smiled at the thought. The stupid boy was arrogant enough that the very concept of having someone throw snow at him was probably beyond his thinking capacity.

"So you got into a snowball fight with the Vicomte de Chagny?"

Natalie shrugged. "Well it wasn't much of a fight. With three girls against him, Raoul didn't stand much of a chance. But it was fun pelting him with snow."

He sighed. "And you came straight down here didn't you? Without even considering putting on dry clothes."

"Maybe…"

Erik put his arm around her shaking shoulder. "Come, you need to get out of that wet outfit. If you aren't careful, you could get sick."

"I don't get sick."

"Humor me." Natalie was only able to take a few steps before falling against him, her knees quivering. Erik scooped her up and began to carry her. "Told you so. Now let's get you upstairs."

"I don't get sick," she replied stubbornly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and nestled closer.

"We'll see," Erik said with a smile.

* * *

Natalie woke when a cool hand touched her forehead. "You have a fever," Erik said simply, caressing her cheek.

She reached up and put her hand on his. "Yeah the doctor told me that. I told him to stuff it. I don't get sick. I have decided that this is all in your heads and I'm perfectly healthy."

"How long have you been in bed?"

"Three days. Doc thinks if I'm not careful, it'll turn into pneumonia. I told him he's crazy. Honestly, I'm hurt that you haven't visited before now," Natalie said with a pout.

"There was always someone in here, Christine, Meg, the doctor. Besides, I've been up here five times. But you were either with someone or sleeping, and I didn't want to wake you."

"Really?"

"Really. This vacation thing is really boring when you're not around to annoy me."

"I missed you too," Natalie said with a smirk. "So no more drinking?"

"God no. I think it may be a while before I even look at alcohol again. But speaking of drinking, I have some medicine for you."

"Is it safe?"

"You insult me. I did learn a few tricks when I was with the gypsies. It will help, but it'll make you drowsy," Erik cautioned, handing her a small bottle.

"That's it? That's about a quarter of what the doctor gave me."

"Well this is much stronger than what the doctor would give you. It's much more effective even though there's less."

Natalie nodded before drinking the medicine in gulp. "God that's nasty," she said with a shudder.

"I never said it would taste good. I said it would help you recover."

Already, Natalie could feel her eyelids getting heavy. "You weren't kidding," she muttered. "I'm so sleepy already." She curled up in a ball and closed her eyes.

"Good night," Erik whispered, smoothing her hair. He heard someone coming down the hall, so he turned and disappeared in the secret passages.


	15. Chapter 15

"Hey Natalie," a voice behind her called.

"Raoul?" she asked in surprise. "What is it?"

"Look, we might not have gotten off to the best start," he said. "But after the other day, I've realized you're not nearly as deranged as everyone says you are, and I'm sorry for judging you. Perhaps we could start over?"

"You're right, we didn't. But after the other day, I realized you weren't a pompous douchebag like I thought you were. I'm sorry for judging you. Perhaps we can," Natalie replied, extending her hand.

Raoul shook her hand. "Great. I …Wait you thought I was a _what_?"

"Look at you!" Natalie exclaimed. "You're a fancy-schmancy Vicomte with oodles of money. Besides, you just admitted that you thought I was a deranged maniac because I have blue hair. Cut me a little slack here."

"Well…" Raoul just shrugged. "Guess you have a point. But I don't consider myself neither pompous nor a douchebag. And I guess you're not really insane."

"Nope!" she replied gleefully. "I'm just a normal teenage girl with blue hair that claims she's a time traveler."

"Okay, well maybe a little," he conceded.

"Honey, you are _so_ not the first person to say that. But that's okay with me. Being crazy is fun. You ought to try it sometime."

He raised an eyebrow. "No thanks. My family would probably disown me if I went insane."

"Yeah probably." Natalie shuffled her feet awkwardly. "Well, if that's all, I'd better go…"

"Hey Christine told me you were sick. How are you feeling?"

"Oh it was nothing, "Natalie replied with a wave of her hand. "Just a little bug after playing in the snow. It's all cleared up now. The doctor says as long as I'm careful going outside, I'm fine."

"Oh, well I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Um, thanks? Hey Raoul, I, uh, gotta go. I'll see you around." Natalie turned and left the Vicomte standing there. "Well," she muttered, just loud enough for Raoul to hear. "That was awkward."

* * *

"What did he want?" a voice asked as soon as Natalie slipped into the secret passage.

Natalie jumped, not realizing Erik was there. "Nothing really." The Phantom stared at her, waiting for a real answer. "Alright, he wanted to apologize for thinking I was a psychopath. He's realized that I'm just some harmless, if somewhat mental, girl. Don't worry about him." She looped her arm through his, and the strange pair made their way down to the basement. "And I can't believe that's how you greet me. No _'Hi, you are you feeling? Glad to see you're alive.'_? Just '_What did he want?_' You really need to work on your conversation skills."

"I do not talk like that," Erik protested. "If you're going to impersonate me, do it right. And I knew you were fine. I've been checking up on you. The medicine worked."

Natalie smiled. "Thank you." Within minutes, they were in Erik's home. "You know, I think I've spent more time down here than upstairs." Erik laughed. The sound was so musical, Natalie wanted to hear more. "Will you sing?" she asked.

He looked at her in surprise. "Would you like me to?"

"Please."

Erik nodded then began.

"_Night-time sharpens, heightens each sensation ..._  
_Darkness stirs and wakes imagination ..._  
_Silently the senses abandon their defenses ..._

_Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor ..._  
_Grasp it, sense it - tremulous and tender ..._  
_Turn your face away from the garish light of day,_  
_turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light -_  
_and listen to the music of the night ..._

_Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams!_  
_Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before!_  
_Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar!_  
_And you'll live as you've never lived before ..._

_Softly, deftly, music shall surround you ..._  
_Feel it, hear it, closing in around you ..._  
_Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind,_  
_in this darkness which you know you cannot fight -_  
_the darkness of the music of the night._

_Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world!_  
_Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before!_  
_Let your soul_  
_Take you where you long to be!_  
_Only then can you belong to me"_

Erik reached out and pulled her close. Natalie rested her head against his broad chest, surrendering to the hypnotic lull of Erik's voice.

_Floating, falling, sweet intoxication!  
Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation!  
Let the dream begin,  
let your darker side give in_"

He paused, but Natalie was too caught up in his velvety voice, his deep eyes, his music. She couldn't resist finishing the song.

"_To the power of  
the music that you write  
the power of the music of the night_"

When the song ended, Natalie slowly came to her senses. Their faces were less than an inch apart; it would be all too easy for her to kiss him. Erik leaned in, but Natalie pushed him away gently. "I'm not Christine," she whispered.

Erik blinked then stepped back, his illusion shattered, reality crashing down around them. "Natalie…" he began. "I…"

"I…I have to go," she stuttered, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry." She turned and ran out, leaving the Phantom alone.


	16. Chapter 16

Natalie ran out of the opera house. She had no clue where she was going, only that she needed to get away before she broke down. Some crossed a line, but she wasn't sure if it was Erik or her. She wasn't Christine, Erik loved Christine. And there was nothing she could do to change that.

She turned a corner and slammed into another person, a man. The man grabbed her arm, but Natalie swung her fist, successfully making contact, and when he let go, she kept going. Behind her came the sound of footsteps. She was being chased, presumably by the man. A pair of arms wrapped around Natalie's waist, lifting her off the ground. Natalie began kicking and screaming for help; she wasn't going to relive what had happened with Buquet.

"It's me!" the man cried. "It's Raoul!" Natalie quit struggling so he put her back on the ground. Now that she wasn't running, everything caught up to her, and she burst into tears. "Did someone hurt you?" he asked, his blue eyes full of concern. Natalie shook her head, furiously trying to blink back her tears. "Did someone try to hurt you?"

"No," Natalie sobbed.

"Will you tell me what happened?"

"No." Raoul didn't say any more, just pulled her into her hug and just let her cry. After several minutes, Natalie finally spoke. "I'm just a stupid, horrible, selfish person who deserves to die."

"No," he said, rubbing her back soothingly. "Don't say that."

"Raoul de Chagny, I take back any and every bad thing I have ever said or thought about you ever. You are so naively perfect, it's almost cute. But the world isn't all rainbows and butterflies, and someday you have to wake up. For me, that's today. What would you say if I told you that I think I'm in love with someone?" Natalie asked.

Raoul started to laugh, "Is that this is about? You really have some issues. Love is better than any magic in the world, and you're upset because you have it?"

Natalie shook her head. "Someone I can't be with. He loves someone else. That someone isn't me, and I don't know what to do."

"I suppose there are a couple of possible outcomes. You could tell this someone the truth, and he truly feels the same way for you so you get a happily ever after. Or you could tell him, and he rejects you, and even if it hurts, you'll know you tried. Or you could let him go and move on with your life. But if it's really love and you don't tell him, you'll spend the rest of your life wondering what could be, and you'll regret not saying something."

"I knew all that already," Natalie said with a sigh. "But that doesn't mean I know what to do from there. I told you, there's someone else. Someone I can't compete with."

"Well, I can't help you from there. It's your choice, one I can't make for you."

"I know, but at this point, I just needed to tell someone. It was eating me alive," Natalie confessed. "I'll figure out what I need to do eventually."

"I know you will," Raoul said. After a moment, he asked, "Out of curiosity, do I know this someone?"

"Depends on your definition of knowing," Natalie replied evasively. "Raoul, thank you for everything, but I need to go think about everything." She gave him another hug. "But you've really helped."

Raoul gave her a sweeping bow. "My pleasure. Now, I know you've had a rough time, but is there a sliver of a chance that you know where I can find Christine?"

* * *

Hidden in a nearby crevice, Erik watched the pair in horror. When he finally processed what he had done, he ran to go find Natalie. He couldn't believe he had gotten caught up in his own illusion. Now as he watched Natalie in Raoul's arms, he was paying the price.

He had heard everything. Well, almost everything. She had called him perfect and confessed to being in love with someone she couldn't have. She was in love with that damn boy too! First Christine, now Natalie. Erik slammed his fist into the stone wall to keep from killing someone and split his knuckles. He swore under his breath and looked up again just in time to see her hugging Raoul again.

As she walked away, Erik followed at a safe distance. Perhaps he was overreacting. Perhaps he was just jumping to conclusions. Perhaps this was nothing at all.

Natalie made her way through Paris, never once realizing she was being followed. Eventually they arrived at the snow covered park. Erik watched her, waiting for a sign whether she had any feelings for the Vicomte or not. Running her hands through her hair, Natalie paced back and forth. Finally she leaned up against a tree with her eyes closed.

"_If there's a prize for rotten judgment  
I guess I've already won that  
No man is worth the aggravation  
That's ancient history, been there, done that!"_

Abruptly, she resumed pacing, arguing with herself._  
_  
_"Who'd'ya think you're kiddin'  
He's the Earth and heaven to you  
Try to keep it hidden  
Honey, we can see right through you  
Girl, ya can't conceal it  
We know how ya feel and  
Who you're thinking of"  
_

Natalie shook her head violently, obviously torn within. She scooped a pebble off the ground and hurled it in frustration.

_"No chance, no way  
I won't say it, no, no_

_It's too cliché_  
_I won't say I'm in love_

_I thought my heart had learned its lesson_  
_It feels so good when you start out_  
_My head is screaming get a grip, girl_  
_Unless you're dying to cry your heart out_

_Whoa, No chance, now way_  
_I won't say it, no, no_

_This scene won't play,_  
_I won't say I'm in love_

_You're way off base_  
_I won't say it_  
_Get off my case_  
_I won't say it"_

A dreamy smile crept across her face, and Natalie wrapped her arms around herself.

_"At least out loud,  
I won't say I'm in love"_

So it was true. Another girl betrayed him for Raoul. With a heavy heart, Erik turned and retreated back to his shadows of the Opera Populaire.

* * *

Little did Erik and Natalie know, that a third person was in the park. Somebody else heard her song, as well as seen her in the street with the Vicomte. And that somebody was very concerned with where this was all going.


	17. Chapter 17

"You okay?" Christine asked. "You've been so quiet lately. It's just not like you."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Natalie lied. "Don't worry about me. It's nothing."

"Something's not right with you. Listen, Meg and I are going shopping, why don't you join us? It might help cheer you up."

Natalie nodded. "Okay, sounds like fun." For the past week, Natalie had refused to be alone. She was always either with Christine, Meg, Raoul, Madame Giry, or a crowd of workers. As an extra precaution, she avoided all of Erik's favorite haunts, unless she was with a large group. She knew he was following her, but Natalie couldn't face him.

"Great, let me go grab Meg, then we can go." Natalie started to follow, but Christine stopped her. "I'll get her. Just wait here, and we'll be back in a few minutes. Then we can go."

As soon as Christine left, Natalie knew she wasn't alone. She could sense Erik standing behind her. "Go away," she ordered, without turning around.

* * *

Erik had been waiting for a whole week for this moment. He knew that she knew he had been watching her, and this was the first time since that day she was alone, even if it was only for a few minutes. Stepping out into the open, Erik reached out for her, but Natalie knew he was there. "Go away."

"Natalie, listen to me," Erik started, but she whirled around, her eyes full of fury.

"No, you listen to me!" she hissed. "I don't know what you want. Every time I think you want one thing, you do the complete opposite."

"Natalie…"

"I'm sick of it!" she shouted. "I'm sick of the games. Just leave me alone."

"Natalie, please, let me talk."

She crossed her arms. "You have thirty seconds."

"I screwed up. Big time. But right now, all I want is things to go back to the way they were. Back when you would come spend time with me and tease me. When you would tell me I needed a cat or call me insane."

"Those days are gone. You've changed. I've heard your music Erik. Sometimes I can hear piano echoes. It's violent, it's scary, it's not you. I don't know you anymore."

"It's because I've been so upset. Natalie, I want…" Erik's voice trailed off. He wasn't even sure what he wanted anymore.

"Christine!" Natalie screamed. "You want Christine. And since she's chosen Raoul, you mess with me. One day I'm your best friend, the next, you're trying to kiss me. I'm so confused; I don't know what to do anymore. My emotions are not some toy for you to play with then toss aside at will."

"Natalie…"

"I'm not Christine! If you want her, then go get her. She is through that door! I don't care anymore. Just leave me alone."

"Does this have anything to do with Raoul?" Erik demanded.

She reached up, as if to slap him. Erik flinched, waiting for the impact that never came. "Does this have anything to do with Raoul?" she repeated, lowering her hand. "Yes. It has everything to do with Raoul. Raoul was the one who made me see logically. I used to wonder why on earth Christine picked him over you. I now know it's because he's safe and secure and dependable. Raoul is so sane, it's insane. You, on the other hand, are always bouncing from one extreme to the other. You're either as gentle as a cloud or meaner than a pack of hungry lions. She obviously couldn't handle it and neither can I. Not anymore." She stormed away angrily, but paused at the door.

"_Ooh, you're givin' me the fever tonight  
I don't want to give in  
I'd be playin' with fire  
You forget, I've seen you work before  
Take 'em straight to the top  
Leave 'em cryin' for more  
I've seen you burn 'em before _

_You come on like a flame  
Then you turn a cold shoulder  
Fire and ice_

_Movin' in for the kill tonight  
You got every advantage when they put out the lights  
It's not so pretty when it fades away  
'Cause it's just an illusion in this passion play  
I've seen you burn 'em before_

_You come on like a flame_  
_Then you turn a cold shoulder_  
_Fire and ice_

_So you think you got it all figured out_  
_You're an expert in the field, without a doubt_  
_But I know your methods inside and out_  
_And I won't be takin' in by Fire and ice_

_You come on like a flame_  
_Then you turn a cold shoulder_  
_Fire and ice."_

"I can't take it anymore. I don't want to see you again." She walked out. "Goodbye Erik." The door slammed behind her. Erik could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks. How had everything gone so wrong so fast? He wished she had hit him. Then there'd be at least a little physical pain to match what he was currently feeling inside.

* * *

Natalie slumped up against the wall, buried her face in her hands, and began to sob uncontrollably.

"_Fire and ice  
You come on like a flame  
Then you turn a cold shoulder  
Fire and ice  
I want to give you my love  
But you'll just take a little piece of my heart  
You'll just tear it apart"_

After she was able to somewhat compose herself, Natalie ran through the opera house, looking for the one person she could talk to. Finally she found Raoul outside the managers' office. "Raoul can I speak with you?"

"What is it?"

"Remember what we talked about last week?" Raoul nodded. "Well, I made a decision about three seconds ago."

"What did you decide?"

"To hell with him, to hell with this!" Natalie shouted. "I can't take this anymore! I'm done! I'm out of here. It's just too much."

Raoul stared at her in surprise. "Did you even talk to him about how you felt?"

"I don't have to. I know how he feels. And it's too painful for me. I won't stay here any longer."

"What?" Raoul cried. "Where are you going to go? Do you have any money? Have you even thought this all the way through?"

"No. I have no idea where I'm going or how I'm going to get there or how I can pay for anything. But I don't care. Staying here just hurts too much. So if you would be kind enough to tell Christine and Meg that I won't be going out with them today, I'd appreciate it."

"Natalie, think this through! That is the craziest idea I have ever heard."

She shrugged. "I'm the crazy girl." There was a long pause before she continued. "It's been good knowing you Raoul. You've been a good friend." Natalie pulled him into a hug. "By the way, congratulations on your engagement."

"I'm not…"

"The ring's in your pocket."

"That doesn't mean…"

"Why wouldn't Christine say yes? She loves you. And I don't plan on sticking around long enough for you to actually propose, so I'll just have to say it in advance."


	18. Chapter 18

"Meg, what on earth makes you think that Natalie has a thing for Raoul?" Christine asked bewildered. "That's the craziest thing I've ever heard!"

"Well, at the time I didn't want to overreact so I wasn't going to tell you, but…" Meg trailed off, unsure whether it was worth upsetting Christine.

"But what?"

"The other day, I was going to go run an errand for Mother, and I saw Natalie with Raoul. She was crying about something, but I couldn't get close enough to hear."

"That doesn't mean anything!" Christine protested.

"I didn't think so at first, but I kept an eye on her for a bit after she left, and I could hear her arguing with herself about being in love."

"That doesn't necessarily mean she loves Raoul," Christine argued, but this time she sounded less sure of herself.

"And I might be jumping to conclusions here," Meg acknowledged. "Like I said, I didn't hear what she was saying. But ever since then, she's been really depressed."

"She's also been hanging around us a lot more," Christine realized. "Like before, we would barely see her at all during the day, and for the past week, it's like she's always there, especially if Raoul's with us. Oh God Meg, what if she does?"

Before Meg could answer, the Vicomte came running up, looking extremely worried. "You two need to go talk some sense into Natalie. Your crazy friend seems to have truly lost it. Well, more so than usual."

"What do you mean?" Meg asked.

"She says she's running away because she's in love with someone who she believes doesn't return her feelings. But she also admits she hasn't actually told him either."

Christine turned to Meg, both of their eyes wide. "You don't think…?"

"Think what?" Raoul asked. The two ballerinas just stared at him. "Me? You think…_Me_? But if it was me, then why on earth would she come to me with her problems?"

Meg shrugged. "Maybe it was her way of trying to tell you."

"Well, I suppose it might be a possibility, but I sure hope you're wrong," Raoul replied.

"Maybe if we talk to her," Christine said. "We can find out for sure. And either way, we'd be able to help her."

Raoul nodded. "But you're going to have to find her first. She disappeared, and I tried following her, but I lost her. I swear she knows this place like the back of her hand."

"Maybe she knows the Phantom," Meg joked.

"Maybe," Christine replied, only she was serious.

* * *

"You do realize it's only a matter of time before he finds out you're here," Madame Giry warned. "You can't hide from him forever."

Natalie nodded. "I know. But I can't stay there anymore. As long as I'm there, I can't escape him. I just need some time to think where I know he can't watch me all the time."

"Very well. Now, since Meg began dancing full time, she's almost never here, so you can have her room for the time being. There's food in the cupboard in the kitchen. Help yourself to anything you need. But I have to get back to the Opera Populaire before someone realizes I'm gone." Natalie nodded her thanks, and the older woman left.

After talking to Raoul, Natalie realized she couldn't just walk out and survive in nineteenth century Paris. So instead of leaving without a trace like she had originally planned, Natalie went to the ballet mistress and begged for help. After Natalie had told her everything, Madame Giry agreed and offered to let Natalie stay at her house a ways away from the opera.

Hours passed in slow agony, but Natalie refused to leave the house. She missed Erik's friendship, but she was too afraid of getting heartbroken. She meant every word she had shouted at him earlier. Every single one.

* * *

"_She says she's running away…_" Raoul's words echoed through the passage down to Erik. What? Natalie was leaving? Turning on his heel, Erik dashed back upstairs. He would talk to Natalie. He would make her see how he really felt.

Erik slipped back into the ballet dorms to find them empty. Natalie had been here less than an hour before. Where was she? She couldn't have gone far. He was about to run out to go search for her when he paused. Something wasn't right.

After studying the room carefully, Erik saw it. Natalie's bed was perfectly made. She never did that, she would always say there was no point in making it nice if you were just going to sleep in it and mess up the sheets. Erik knew exactly where to look. Under the mattress, where he had left a note for her months ago, there was a new envelope. With shaking hands, he ripped it open to find the words _Too Late_. Erik tore the room apart, looking for something, looking for anything, but all of Natalie's few possessions were gone.

Darting out of the room, the Phantom searched every single inch of the Opera house. There was no sign of her anywhere. Erik was on the verge on panic. _She left,_ he thought miserably. _She's gone_. Where could she go? He knew one person who might know where to find her.

"Where is she? Where did she go" he demanded the second he found Madame Giry.

"Where's who?"

"Natalie. She's gone. Where did she go?" he asked again.

"I don't know," the ballet mistress replied. Erik immediately knew she was lying. She wouldn't meet his eyes. She knew exactly where he could find Natalie.

"Damn you!" Erik yelled in frustration. "Tell me where she is!"

Madame Giry just looked at him. "You know, if I were you, I'd learn how to control that temper. Especially when you're trying to get what you want from someone."

He forced himself to take a deep breath and control his rage. "Tell me where she is." Madame Giry raised an eyebrow. "Please," Erik added in desperation.

"No." And with that, she turned and walked away.


	19. Chapter 19

Erik paced back and forth, wondering where on earth Natalie could be. Madame Giry knew exactly where she was, but wasn't sharing no matter how much Erik begged. Three days had passed, and there had been absolutely no sign of her, and it was driving him out of his mind. Where could she be hiding?

Closing his eyes, Erik went through the few clues he had found. Madame Giry was in on it. He hadn't noticed her disappearing when Natalie went missing, so obviously Natalie wasn't far. And he had tailed the ballet mistress every time she left the Opera, but the only place she ever went was home. So either Giry was visiting Natalie on her way to the Opera or Natalie was close to her home. Unless…but Madame Giry wouldn't be so obvious would she? Erik slapped himself in the face; he knew exactly where Natalie was. It was amazing how long it took him to figure it out.

Within the hour, he was standing outside Madame Giry's home. Erik knew it would be a few hours before she returned. He quickly picked the lock and silently crept inside. Like a ghost, Erik slipped through the house, listening hard for any sound that someone else was in here. His eyes shot upward towards the celling as he heard a floorboard creak overhead. He held his breath as footsteps began coming down the stairs.

Erik saw a whoosh of Natalie's signature blonde and blue hair as she walked past the door and into the kitchen. He stood silently just outside of the room. Every part of him wanted to hold her, but he stayed back and waited to see what she would do.

Keeping her back to him, Natalie stared out the window. "Why do you even bother?" she asked herself. "You know full well he loves Christine. There's no place in his heart for you." Her voice was thick, like she was currently crying or was on the verge of tears. "He and Christine were meant to be together. They deserve to get married and live happily ever after. Without you. Let him go."

His heart was crushed. She wanted Raoul. As much as it hurt him, Erik turned and walked away without her ever realizing he was in there.

* * *

Natalie froze. What was that sound? She turned and looked behind her. There was nothing. Well, no one to be precise. A quick search of the house proved she was totally alone. Natalie couldn't tell if she was relieved or disappointed that Erik wasn't here.

Well even if not in, Erik was definitely here, in her mind. She couldn't escape the thought of him. Everything she did, somehow reminded her of him. He was a true phantom to her now, haunting every one of her thoughts. She wandered through the house almost in a daze, singing under her breath.

_"I always needed time on my own  
I never thought I'd need you there when I cry  
And the days feel like years when I'm alone  
And the bed where you lie is made up on your side_

_When you walk away I count the steps that you take_  
_Do you see how much I need you right now_

_When you're gone  
The pieces of my heart are missing you  
When you're gone  
The face I came to know is missing too  
When you're gone  
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok  
I miss you_

_I've never felt this way before_  
_Everything that I do reminds me of you_  
_And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor_  
_And they smell just like you, I love the things that you do_

_When you walk away I count the steps that you take_  
_Do you see how much I need you right now_

_When you're gone_  
_The pieces of my heart are missing you_  
_When you're gone_  
_The face I came to know is missing too_  
_When you're gone_  
_The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok_  
_I miss you_

_We were made for each other_  
_Out here forever_  
_I know we were, yeah_  
_All I ever wanted was for you to know_  
_Everything I'd do, I'd give my heart and soul_  
_I can hardly breathe I need to feel you here with me, yeah_

_When you're gone  
The pieces of my heart are missing you  
When you're gone  
The face I came to know is missing too  
When you're gone  
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok  
I miss you"_

A slam downstairs startled Natalie. Someone was in the house. She snatched a large leather-bound book off a nearby shelf. If it was someone unfriendly, she wanted a weapon, and the book was the heaviest thing in the room. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.

She rounded the corner and raised the book in case she needed to swing. Natalie jumped out in the middle of the hallway, ready to attack. "Oh it's you," she said, lowering the book. "Sorry, I thought maybe someone had broken in."

"You scared me," Madame Giry admitted. "And if that 'someone' was here, would you have bashed his head in with a book? Because we both know who you were thinking of."

"I might have. But honestly, I doubt it. So what are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you back for a few hours."

"Things seemed too quiet around the opera, so I thought it was possible…"

Natalie shook her head. "Nope. Absolutely not. I thought I heard someone, but it was nothing. No ghosts here."

"Just wanted to make sure. Better safe than sorry."

"Yeah," Natalie sighed. "Hey, isn't the Masquerade coming up?"

"Yes. Its next week. Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking about going. If it's okay with you. It's a Masquerade; therefore I'd be wearing a mask. No one would know it was me."

Madame Giry shrugged. "It's your decision. But there's no point in wearing a mask in your case. No one else in Paris has blue hair; everyone would be able to tell it was you. Including _him_."

Natalie smiled mischievously. "Or would they? Don't worry, I have a plan."


	20. Chapter 20

Natalie stared at her reflection. "Pretty spiffy," she declared. "I have to admit that this is working out better than I thought." With a few requests from Natalie, Madame Giry raided the costume closet, so Natalie was decked out in an all-black suit, complete with cape, a cloth black mask covering half her face and wrapped around her head, black boots, and a fake rapier on her hip. "I look like Zorro, except I don't have that stupid little mustache."

"You look like who?" Madame Giry asked.

"Oh, he's a fictional character. Zorro was a vigilante in California, a Mexican noble who acted kind of like Batman…Actually I think Batman was based on Zorro." She paused at Madame Giry's puzzled face. "Never mind."

"So what are you going to do about that blue hair?"

"Don't worry; the costume isn't quiet finished yet." Natalie wrapped her long hair around her hand and pinned it to the top of her head. She grabbed the final touch, a large black hat. "There," she said, adjusting the hat. "Can you tell it's me?"

Madame Giry circled her, studying her. "Actually it's pretty good. Between the hat and mask, if I didn't know, I wouldn't be able to tell it was you. Honestly, though, you look like a man. A rather feminine-looking man, but still…"

"Awesome, I was shooting for that."

The ballet mistress rolled her eyes. "I don't pretend to understand you."

"I never asked you to. But this is oober comfy for dress clothes; well, actually that's just a plus. If he's looking out for me, he's going to look for a woman and would totally overlook a man."

"You seriously thought this through. I would have never thought of that."

Natalie smirked. "Luckily I did."

* * *

Erik studied himself in the mirror. He held his mask in one hand and his opera in the other. Was he really going through with this? His plan was twisted, even for him, which was the only reason why he hesitated. If this worked, Erik knew the Vicomte was going to be suddenly single. If Natalie wanted Raoul, well she could have him. Christine would belong to him. He would prove to everyone he didn't need Natalie. With Christine, he would be able to get Natalie out of his head. Or so he hoped.

Sliding the skull mask over his face, Erik completed his Red Death costume. The Masquerade was progressing overhead and he was planning crashing the party. Promise or no, his days of vacationing were over. He made his way upstairs where he watched the guests arrive.

Looking out over the party, Erik saw all sorts of outfits. Most of the partygoers showed up in dress clothes with a mask but there were a few costumes. Andre and Firmin had made half-wit attempt at dressing up as him, but just showed up dressed as skeletons. Absolutely pathetic.

One couple spinning happily around the dance floor caught Erik's attention. It was Christine and that damn boy. His breath caught when he heard what Christine was saying. "A secret engagement. Look, your future bride." _No_, Erik thought. _Not if I have anything to do with it._

Another pair also stood out. Meg, clad in a white dress, was dancing with a man wearing nothing but black. Erik wondered who the mystery man was. He tried getting closer but between the man's mask and hat Erik couldn't see who it was. All he could see was that the man obviously was a horrid dancer. Erik shrugged, it didn't matter to him. Besides, it was time for his grand entrance.

* * *

"Oh wow," Natalie whispered in awe. "It's like a fairytale." The opera was always grand, but tonight with the party and the costumes and the fireworks, it was absolutely magical. She stood off to one side just taking in the grandeur, until she realized that it looked suspicious. Everyone else was dancing so she needed to be too.

Glancing around the room, Natalie wondered what she was going to do. Normally she was asked by the guys, but everyone thought she was a guy tonight. And she didn't want to ask just some random girl and blow her cover. Finally a familiar blonde caught her attention. Natalie approached Meg and bowed silently. Meg shrugged then accepted.

The two stumbled around as Natalie tried figure out her footing. She accidentally trod on the ballerina's foot, causing Meg to flinch. "Sorry," Natalie whispered. "I'm usually in your spot, so I'm trying to figure this out."

Meg stared at her oddly then realized who she was dancing with. "Natalie?" she asked in amazement. "Is that you?"

"Shh!" Natalie hissed. "I'm incognito!"

"I thought you ran away!"

"I did. That's why I'm in disguise."

"Well you aren't doing a very good job. I know it's you."

"Only cause I told you!" Natalie argued. "It _is_ a Masquerade after all." As she and Meg spun around, Natalie began to quietly sing the famous song.

"_Masquerade!  
Paper faces on parade.  
Masquerade!  
Hide your face, so the world will never find you!  
Masquerade!  
Every face a different shade.  
Masquerade!  
Look around  
there's another  
mask behind you!"_

Meg smiled. "Yes, that's definitely Natalie under the mask. But I have to ask, why did you leave? Raoul said it was because of a guy."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But…" the ballerina's voice trailed off as she stared in fear behind Natalie. She turned and followed Meg's gaze to see Erik standing at the top of the staircase. Everyone backed away from the Phantom in terror. He had everyone's attention, and no one was brave enough to even move under his intimidating gaze.

"_Why so silent, good messieurs?  
Did you think that I had left you for good?  
Have you missed me, good messieurs?  
I have written you an opera  
Here I bring the finished score  
'Don Juan Triumphant'!  
I advise you to comply  
My instructions should be clear"  
_

Natalie watched, paralyzed with uncertainty as Erik threw the score at Andre before turning to Christine. The girl stared at him with dread, too scared to go to him, but too scared to disobey him. With a wave of his hand, he beckoned her closer. When Christine was standing toe to toe with him, her eyes wide, Erik ripped a necklace off her neck. A necklace that Natalie knew held an engagement ring. "_Your chains are still mine! You will sing for me!"_ He vanished in a puff of smoke, and chaos ensued.

Erik had made his choice clear. He wanted Christine, but that didn't mean Natalie was going to let him destroy whatever chance he still stood with her. Natalie grabbed Meg's arm as people around them ran away screaming. "Whatever you do," she hissed. "Do _not_ let Christine sing that opera. Trust me that cannot happen. With a capitol C-A-Double N-O-T!"

"Natalie what's going on?"

"Meg, I have to go. But things will work out extremely badly if that Christine sings that." She glanced around. "If anyone asks, I was never here."

"Natalie!" Meg shouted after her as Natalie ran out the door with the rest of the crowd.

* * *

"_Natalie!_"

Erik whirled around. Where was she? He studied the crowd, frantically searching for a flash of blue. Then it hit him. Natalie knew her hair would stick out, so she would either hide it or change it. The mysterious man Meg was with! Well, person. Erik actually had no proof that the man was actually a man, and Natalie had arrived originally at the opera wearing men's clothing, so it wasn't that far of a stretch to imagine it was her.

The idea of chasing the black figure was extremely tempting but Erik held back. He didn't need Natalie, and he was probably just imagining things anyway. And even if it was Natalie, Erik had already decided that he was just going to have to settle for Christine.


	21. Chapter 21

"She's _what_?" Natalie screeched. "No, no, no! You don't realize the severity of the situation! If Christine sings that opera, bad things will happen! Very, very bad things! Erik, well you know how he is! He's extremely jealous of Raoul and will stop at nothing until he has Christine!"

"I know," Madame Giry sighed. "But the Vicomte de Chagny thinks they can trap and capture him if she sings."

"Vicomte thinks my ass!" Natalie shouted. Then something else occurred to her. "And you're letting them do this? You aren't going to stop them?" Madame Giry shook her head. "For Christ's sake! Whose side are you on? I thought you were his friend! I thought you helped him!"

"That was before!" Madame Giry protested.

"Before what?"

"Before all this madness! Besides, I could say the exact same thing about you."

"No," Natalie whispered angrily. She raised her voice to a shout. "No you can't! Because unlike you, I haven't given up on him. There's still time. I can try and talk him out of this. I can try and stop him!"

"Why do you care so much? Why does it matter to you?"

Natalie stared at her for a moment, tears glistening in her eyes. "Because I love him." She turned and ran towards the door.

"Where are you going?" the ballet mistress demanded.

"To the Opera Populaire. I'm going to put a stop to the madness. And I'll be damned if you try and stop me."

* * *

"Raoul de Chagny stop right there!"

"Natalie? You came back?" The Vicomte smiled at her. "It's good to see you again. What changed your mind?"

"You!"

Raoul seemed a little flustered at that. "Wha…What do you mean?"

Natalie rolled her eyes. He could be so stupid sometimes. "It means that your ludicrous plan will probably get you, Christine, and everyone else here killed! You know nobody messes with the Phantom and lives! I cannot let you be a total moron and get yourself murdered because you were dumb enough to try and beat the Opera Ghost."

"Natalie, I can personally assure you that I have everything under control. There are officers stationed at every door, one in Box Five, in the manager's box, in the pit, there is no way he can escape."

"Dammit! That's not my point! He's not going to try and leave, he's going to kidnap Christine, just like she tried to tell you. You can't let her sing. Trust me; I'm trying to help you."

"You have absolutely nothing to worry about. We have thought of all scenarios and how to counter them. What can possibly go wrong?"

Natalie slapped herself in the face. If he was going to be this damn stubborn and go through with this, there was one thing she could stop. She dropped her voice low in case Erik was nearby. "What about the chandelier?"

"Beg your pardon?"

"The chandelier!" Natalie hissed. . "If his plan doesn't work out for him, he's going to need an escape plan. What's the best way to do that? Biggest distraction possible. The chandelier would cause mass chaos, destruction,_ and_ probably several deaths."

"I understand your concern, but Natalie, don't worry. Nothing can go wrong."

She growled in frustration. "You stupid, arrogant asshole. You are going to get somebody killed. And at the rate you're going, that somebody is going to be you. I'm trying to help you but instead you're putting your precious ego ahead of the girl you love. I ought to smack you right here, right now. Actually I ought to let this blow up in your face. Instead, I'm going to try and find someone who will listen."

* * *

"Christine!"

"Natalie!" Christine wrapped her arms around her friend. "I'm so glad to see you! Are you okay? Where have you been? Why did you leave?"

"Look, what matters is the fact I'm back. And I'm back to warn you, you can't sing tonight. You know how dangerous the Phantom is."

"Raoul says…"

"Damn what Raoul says!" Natalie shouted. "You're absolutely terrified, I can see it in your eyes! You don't want to go through with this. And I'm telling you, you shouldn't. The Opera Populaire is the Phantom's domain, no one knows it like he does. Raoul means well, but so much of his plan can backfire. What if something goes wrong?"

Christine's face was very white. "I don't know. But Raoul says I'm perfectly safe. The entire police force is here. They won't let anything happen to me."

"But what if…"

"Natalie!" Christine interrupted. "This is my one chance to escape him. He's always there, haunting me. This is my one chance for peace of mind. My chance to truly be happy with Raoul. I have to believe this will work."

The pleading in Christine's eyes silenced any further arguments Natalie had. Erik may love Christine, but it was obvious to Natalie that Christine's heart belonged fully to Raoul. "Alright," Natalie sighed. "But be careful."

Christine nodded. "If there was another way, I'd do it."

"So would I," Natalie murmured as she left Christine. "So would I."

Natalie walked away, deep in thought. "What does he see in her?" she wondered. "I mean, yes she's pretty and a wonderful singer, but it's always _Raoul says this, Raoul wants that_. And before that it was _Angel wants this, Angel says that. _Doesn't she have a personality of her own?" Natalie sighed. "Oh who am I kidding? He loves her. Maybe if I were more like Christine, he'd love me instead." She shook her head. "What on earth am I saying? Have years of idolizing Pink and Avril Lavigne taught me nothing? Christine's just another average girl. I'm at least one in a million."

"_Maybe if I act like that, that guy will call me back  
Porno Paparazzi girl, I don't wanna be a stupid girl  
Baby if I act like that, flipping my blond hair back  
Push up my bra like that, I don't wanna be a stupid girl_"

"I don't need to be like that!" Natalie declared.

"_So raise your glass if you are wrong  
In all the right ways, all my underdogs  
We will never be, never be anything but loud  
And nitty gritty, dirty little freaks_"

She sighed again. "Oh who am I kidding? I'd be a cat if that's what it took for him to love me."

"_Because somewhere the one  
I wanna be with's  
with somebody else  
Oh god, I wanna be that  
someone that you're with  
I wanna be that  
someone that you're with  
And I can talk about it all day long  
'til I run out of breath  
But I still wanna be that  
someone that you're with  
I've got to be that  
someone that you're with  
And I'm pacing by the phone  
'Cause I hate to be alone  
And if you're out there with him  
somewhere and just about to kiss  
God, I wanna be that  
someone that you're with"_

Natalie pulled her head out of the clouds. She was on a mission, she could daydream later, but for now she needed to save Erik. She ran throughout the opera house, calling his name, praying that he would answer.

Finally outside the costume storage closet, a hand fell on her shoulder. Natalie whirled around and saw him. He was dressed up in his usual black, but his signature white mask had been replaced by a black one that covered the upper half of his face. "Erik," Natalie breathed.

Sparks of fury flew from his eyes. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. "I thought you were hiding out at Madame Giry's."

Natalie's jaw dropped. "How did…?"

"I saw you. I saw you there. I saw you at the Masquerade with Meg. So why don't you run away again? Because I don't need or want you here anymore."

"Erik, listen to me, I'm here to help you. You can't go through with this. There has got to be another way! You know that if you take Christine, Raoul will follow you to the ends of the earth. Kidnapping her isn't how you win her love!"

Erik scowled at her. "I don't need your advice! Go bother somebody who gives a shit." He pushed past her and made his way towards the stage.

His words struck a nerve. Natalie felt like he had hit her. "Please! Listen to me, this will not work out well. Raoul is trying to kill you!"

"You think I don't know that?"

"I can't let you purposely put yourself in harm's way. I won't let you."

Erik grabbed her upper arm and threw her into the costume closet. "I'm not giving you a choice." He slammed the door shut and the lock clicked before Natalie could stop him. "Oh, and thanks for the chandelier idea. I hadn't thought of that."

"You bastard!" she screamed while slamming on the door, tears springing to her eyes. "You were my friend! I trusted you!" She could hear him walking away, so she desperately tried playing her last card.

"_It's nice to know that you were there  
Thanks for acting like you cared  
And making me feel like I was the only one  
It's nice to know we had it all  
Thanks for watching as I fall  
And letting me know we were done"_

Nothing. He was gone. Natalie curled up on the floor and began to sob. She lost him. He was going to kidnap Christine. There was nothing she could do.

"_You were everything, everything that I wanted  
We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it  
And all of the memories, so close to me, just fade away  
All this time you were pretending  
So much for my happy ending"_

* * *

Erik felt incredibly guilty. He couldn't believe what just did. He was so tempted to go back and hold her and beg for forgiveness. To go back and tell her everything. But Erik stopped himself. Christine. He loved Christine now. Well, he was going to. He had done it before and could to it again.

* * *

_DUN DUN DUUUUN! So if you haven't figured it out, I did cut the cemetery scene. I wasn't quite sure how to work it in with Natalie, and besides, I didn't want to follow the movie/play 100% anyway. Thanks to everyone again for reviewing, it helps my narcassistic ego XD Extra-brownie points for to Phan3145 for suggesting that I use the song "Someone that You're With." I was looking for a good Nickelback song to mix in and had forgotten bout that one. Anywhoo, I appreciate all of you for sticking round with me this long. We're almost done, just a handful of chapters left. Read and Review as always_

_~nibblesfan_


	22. Chapter 22

_CRASH!_

"Oh God that was the chandelier," Natalie moaned. "He went through with it. He really did it. I couldn't stop him. Oh my God, this is all my fault."

Screams of panic echoed down from the theater down to Natalie. Only one word was understandable: "Fire!"

Natalie sprang up from the floor where she had curled up after nearly two hours of attempting to break free. "Oh shit! This place is on fire!" Frantically, she began beating on the door screaming for help. "Help me! Please! I'm locked in here! Madame Giry? Raoul? Meg? Erik? Somebody? _Anybody_?" There was no answer. In an effort to escape, Natalie began ramming the door with her shoulder. The strong wood of the door held, effectively keeping her trapped.

She froze for a second. Something really wasn't right. With a gasp of horror, Natalie realized she could smell smoke. The fire was spreading, and no one knew she was in here. There was a very real possibility she could die in this closet. Out of desperation, she began screaming at the top of her lungs. "Somebody help me! For God's sake, I'm trapped!"

After what seemed like forever, the door suddenly swung open, and Natalie fell against Madame Giry. "Thank you," Natalie cried, clinging to the ballet mistress for dear life. "I thought I was going to die in there."

"What happened?"

"I tried to stop him. He wouldn't listen to me. He locked me in there."

Madame Giry's eyes went wide. "You're lucky I found you in here. The fire's growing; we need to get out of here. But you're extremely fortunate he didn't kill you."

Natalie shook her head. "Erik wouldn't hurt me."

"Christine said the same thing. Now he's dragged her off to do God knows what to her!"

"Christine's smart. She knows not to make him mad. As long as she doesn't do anything stupid, he won't hurt her either," Natalie argued.

"A desperate man will do desperate things."

"Speaking of, where's Raoul?" Natalie asked.

"He went after them. I helped him find his way to the Phantom's lair."

"_What_?" Natalie shouted. "He'll kill him!"

"Who's going to kill who?"

"Theoretically, it could go either way, but my money's on Erik killing Raoul." She started running for Christine's dressing room, but Madame Giry grabbed her wrist.

"Where are you going? The Opera is on fire! If we don't get out of here, we'll be killed in the blaze!"

Natalie pulled away. "I have to help Christine and Raoul. And I told you before, I won't abandon Erik. And fire burns up not down. The flames will be under control before they even have a chance to get near his home. But _you_ do need to go. You have a daughter that needs you. But I have friends that need me downstairs." She hugged Madame Giry again. "Thank you for everything. I'll see you when all this craziness is over."

"Natalie, you are going to get yourself killed! He's gone mad!"

"Exactly! He needs me. He may not realize it, but he does."

"This is a lost cause!" Madame Giry protested.

Natalie couldn't find the right words until she remembered one of her favorite movie quotes. "No cause is lost as long as there is but one fool left to fight for it."

* * *

Christine stared at Erik, terror in her eyes. "What do you want from me?" she demanded. Erik reached out to caress her cheek, but she pulled away so that his fingers barely brushed her face.

"Why?" he demanded, grabbing her arm and dragging her to him. She knew exactly what he meant. Why did she betray him and unmask him in front of the entire theater? Instead of answering, she just stared at him, too afraid to answer. "_WHY?_" Christine flinched, cowering from his rage.

Erik snatched the wedding dress he had designed for her all those months ago, and threw it at her. "Put it on!" he ordered. She hesitated, unsure whether to undress in front of him. "Now!" He turned his back to her so that Christine would change but stayed in front of the door so that she couldn't even attempt to escape.

When Christine was dressed, Erik took in her appearance. Yes she was absolutely beautiful in that dress, but he didn't care. For all it mattered, it was like the lifeless mannequin was still wearing it. But Christine was going to marry him, and dammit they were both going to like it!

"Please!" she pleaded. "Why are you doing this?"

The question threw him off guard. Why _was_ he doing this? Before he came up with a response, the sound of footsteps silenced him. "Wait, my dear. I think we have a guest."

"Raoul," Christine cried. They tried running to each other, but Erik clamped his hand Christine's throat, forcing the Vicomte to freeze in place. "Let me go," she begged, trying to breathe.

"Let me see her!" Raoul implored.

Erik threw her at Raoul's feet. "Be my guest sir." The lovers embraced, which infuriated Erik. How dare they be happy! How dare they share such strong love while Erik suffered? He would make sure they felt his pain too.

"Monsieur, I bid you welcome. Did you think that I would harm her? Why would I make her pay for the sins which are yours?" He wrapped his Punjab lasso around Raoul's neck and pulled it tight, causing Christine to scream. Erik whirled around and forced her to look him straight in the eyes. "Start a new life with me! Buy his freedom with your love! Refuse me, and you send your lover to his death! This is the choice. This is the point of no return!"

Christine began pleading with him. Raoul was telling Christine to abandon him and run. And Erik sat there, waiting for her choice. No matter what she picked, they would all share the pain he was feeling inside.

"Angel of Music, you deceived me," Christine accused. "I gave my mind blindly."

He had had enough. "You try my patience," he warned. "Make your choice."

With tears in her eyes, Christine looked back and forth between the two men, trying to decide whether Raoul lived or died. Her eyes widened as she saw something behind them. Erik started to turn to see what it was, but Christine grabbed him and pulled him into a full open-mouthed kiss.

To everyone's surprise, it was Erik that broke the kiss. "Run!" Christine screamed.

Erik spun around and his heart leaped when he saw her standing there. "Natalie," he whispered.

* * *

_Just gotta say that I did borrow one line from another movie. Natalie says 'No cause is lost as long as there is but one fool left to fight for it.' Will says that in _Pirates of the Carribean at World's End. _I know it's a totally different movie, but hey it fits, and Natalie is from the future AND has an obession with Johnny Depp so she'd know that line. Anyways, enjoy the cliffhanger. I'm having oodles of fun with this, you all know the ending is so close and yet so far! Read and Review and thanks for supporting my weirdness! XD_

_~nibblesfan_


	23. Chapter 23

"Natalie," Erik whispered. She was here. After everything, she still came. He glanced back at Christine. There was absolutely no passion from either in their kiss. It had taken that much for Erik to admit that he didn't love Christine, and he was fairly certain he never had. He might have cared for her, but it was never true love. Natalie was the one he loved. Erik couldn't do this. "Go," he said to Christine.

She stared at him in disbelief. "What?"

"Take that stupid boy and go."

* * *

Natalie knew that Christine was telling her to run. And she did, not away, but over to Raoul. He was struggling to breathe; the noose was too tight around his neck. There was no way she could untie the knot so she grabbed the nearest candle and burned the rope. Raoul slumped forward against her, gasping for breath. "Are you alright?" she asked, pulling the lasso from his neck and helping him stand.

He nodded. They both turned and saw Christine coming towards them, with Erik staying back. Natalie could see tears in his eyes.

"Raoul!" She ran into the Vicomte's arms, and the two embraced. Christine pressed her lips against his. "We're free! He's letting us all go."

For a moment, Raoul looked like he was going to go try and fight Erik but changed his mind and wrapped his arms around Christine. "Come, we should get out of here." The couple started to flee, but stopped when they realized Natalie wasn't following. "Natalie," Raoul called. "Come on!"

Natalie started at Erik, who had turned away but his shaking shoulders clearly indicated he was crying. "No, you two go. I'm not leaving him."

Raoul looked at her in shock. "_Him? _You love _him_? _He's_ your mystery guy?"

She raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, I don't make the rules. I'm just telling you how it is. And I'm telling you, I love him. Besides, he's not that bad."

"Not that bad?" Raoul squeaked.

"Yeah," Natalie shrugged. "Erik just doesn't like you."

"That's the understatement of the century," the Vicomte said dryly.

Natalie put her hands on her hips. "No one asked your opinion." Her expression softened slightly. "But you and Christine _do _need to go. But I'll be perfectly fine right here."

Christine and Raoul exchanged glances. After a moment, Christine nodded. "Okay, if you insist. But Natalie, please, don't do anything stupid. Be careful. And I'm not just talking about him." Natalie knew exactly what she meant. The sound of a very angry mob was getting closer and closer.

"Go, be happy," Natalie said, hugging both of her friends. "Go get married and have a huge family or whatever you want, and if anyone tries to give you shit, well to hell with them!"

Raoul smiled. "We'll do that. I'll miss you. You are definitely the strangest, craziest, blue-haired girl from the future I've ever met."

"I'm pretty sure I'm the only blue-haired girl you've met. Also, the only girl from the future you know too," Natalie replied with a smirk. "Now get the hell out of here!" she said, teasingly swatting them both away.

When the lovers finally started to go, Natalie turned around and slowly approached Erik. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder. He glanced up for a moment, but lowered his gaze to his feet. "You should go with them."

"Why on earth would you say that?" Natalie asked in shock.

"Isn't it what you want?"

"No! What gave you that absurd idea?"

"I heard you talking about him. I heard you say you loved him."

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard anyone say! How on earth could anyone think I could ever love Raoul?" she demanded. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Raoul and Christine staring at her curiously. "No offense Raoul. You're a great guy and all, but so not my type. Besides you're taken. Don't mind me!" she said with a wave of her hand. After a brief hesitation, the two disappeared into the tunnels.

"So you don't love him?" Erik asked.

"No, I don't. He's a friend and nothing more. But you did hear me say that I was in love. And I'm pretty damn sure you know who I'm talking about."

"I do?"

Natalie slapped herself in the face. How could he be so oblivious? "Yes, yes you do. Very well in fact." When he stared at her, with confusion still written across his face, she sighed. "Must I draw you a picture?"

"Quit playing games with me!" he shouted.

"YOU!" she shouted back.

Erik stared at her in disbelief. "What?"

Natalie took a deep breath. "Erik, I…I love you."

"_Me?_"

She smiled. "Yes you. Erik I truly, madly, deeply, honest to God with all my heart and every single fiber of my being love you."

* * *

_TROLOLOLOL! It's about freaking time somebody said the magical three words. But since I'm a meaner, you will all have to wait to see what happens next! I know it's a short chapter, but hey, I'm so close to the ending, why not drag it out a little more. Means more time with everyone's favorite strange, crazy, blue-haired girl from the future for you! And I don't think I need to say it again, but I will. Read and Review cause I'm a total n__arcissist _ and reviews make me happy XD

_~nibblesfan_


	24. Chapter 24

"Please, say it again," Erik begged. "I need to be absolutely certain that what you're saying and what I'm hearing is the same thing."

Natalie gave him a watery smile. "I love you."

Instead of replying with words, Erik cupped her face in his hands, and pressed his lips against hers. For a split second, he could feel her surprise but she quickly sank into the kiss and returned it with a passion Erik had never felt before, and he knew with absolute certainty that this was once in a lifetime, true love.

When they finally broke apart, Natalie stared at him. "Okay, now I'm the confused one. How…? How does all that turn into this?"

"I…I thought...I thought you were in love with Raoul." He looked at her, shame across his face. "So in a very long lapse of judgment, I thought it would be a good idea. I thought you could be with Raoul, and Christine and I would just have to settle for each other."

"Settle as in she was a second choice? Meaning….?"

Erik caressed her cheek gently. "Natalie, I love you." This time it was Natalie who leaned in and kissed him. He pulled her into his arms and held her close.

Suddenly she pulled out of his embrace. "Wait…" She gasped and stepped back away from him. "Oh God, you did all that because I didn't tell you how I really felt about you?"

"No!" Erik replied firmly. "I did all that because I didn't admit to you or to me how _I_ really felt. I wouldn't accept it; I was too afraid of getting heartbroken. I didn't actually think about how it would affect anyone but myself because I was being a selfish monster. But it was never your fault. I was being stupid."

"Well in my seventeen years of life, I have never heard a man say he was stupid when he wasn't," Natalie teased. She leaned in and kissed the deformed side of his face. "But I told you before. You are not and never will be a monster." Laying her head on his chest, Natalie hugged him. "Don't ever say that again," she whispered.

"I won't as long as you're with me," Erik replied, resting his chin on the top of her head. "When I'm with you, I feel like any normal person."

"Erik, do you really love me?" Natalie asked.

"With all my heart." Suddenly, Erik remembered a song that summed up his feelings perfectly. He wasn't sure how he knew it or what on earth it was, but it didn't matter.

"_I felt so cold and empty  
like a lost soul out of place  
And the mirror, mirror on the wall  
sees my smile it fades again_

_Sometimes I wished to God  
I didn't know now  
the things I didn't know then_

_But then you gave me something to believe in"_

Natalie grinned. "You remember that song?"

"I honestly don't know where it came from," Erik admitted. "But apparently you do."

"Remember that night? When you got really drunk?" He grimaced at the memory, making Natalie giggle. "Yes that one. Well, you were having nightmares so I was singing to you, and that was one of the songs."

"Natalie, when did you know?" Erik asked after a moment of silence. "When did you know you loved me?"

She thought about it for a moment then answered. "I guess after our first kiss, well if you could call it that, back when you were still chasing after Christine. But I actually wouldn't admit it, not until you sang _Music of the Night_ to me. What about you?"

"Well, there was the kiss. And after the Buquet fiasco, when you screamed at me, it hurt worse than any physical injury I had ever received." He remembered something else. Rummaging through the desk drawer, Erik found what he was looking for. A crumpled wad of paper, which he smoothed out and handed to her. "When you told me to go on vacation, I drew this." It was a hand drawn portrait of Natalie.

"Oh Erik, it's beautiful," she whispered in awe.

"Keep it," he said, kissing her forehead. "I've got the real thing, which is so much better."

"Oh so now I'm getting your castoffs," Natalie joked. "Guess I know how you feel about me." She sighed, pretending to be annoyed. "I suppose it'll have to do."

Erik opened his mouth to respond but a chorus of voices drifted down to them. _"Track down this murderer, he must be found!"_ The mob was extremely close now.

"Oh God, we have to go now!" Erik grabbed Natalie's hand and pulled her towards the door. The glow of torches rounding the corner stopped him. "Okay, guess that way's out."

"Please tell me you have an escape door or a safety room or a panic button or something!" Natalie started hyperventilating. She didn't want to know what would happen to Erik if they caught him.

"Don't worry. I always have a backup plan. It just doesn't have as many passages as the other way," Erik replied. "Stand back." He grabbed a nearby candlestick and smashed in a mirror, revealing a tunnel behind the shattered glass. Turning back to Natalie, Erik extended his hand. "Come with me if you want to live!"

"That sounds like something out of a _Terminator_ movie," Natalie commented, taking his hand.

"Like a _what_?"

"You know, with Arnold Schwarzenegger…oh wait, you don't…never mind." She shoved him into the corridor. "Go!"

"Wait!" Erik cried. "My mask!"

Natalie glanced back and saw the white leather sitting on a chair across the room. She was about to run and grab it, but she could hear footsteps and identify individual voices from the mob. They were out of time. They could either grab the mask and have to fight for their lives or they could leave it and just barely escape. "C'mon," she said, snatching his hand and dragging him behind her. "There's no time. You're with me. You don't need it."

The two ran hand in hand through the tunnels, Natalie relying solely on Erik to guide her through the pitch black darkness. He knew exactly where he was going and didn't slow down for anything. "It should be right…over…here!" he announced. There was what looked like a sewer gate, except it led up to the street.

Erik stepped into the dim light from the street lamps above and reached up to open the gate, but immediately sank back to the shadows next to Natalie. "What is it?" she started to ask, but he put his hand over her mouth and pulled her to his chest.

"Police," he hissed in her ear so softly that she almost didn't hear.

Natalie pulled his hand away from her face. "How many?" she whispered back.

"At least half a dozen, most likely more."

"Any chance at all you could take them?"

He shook his head. "Not without attracting attention. We can either stay down here and hope to outmaneuver that mob with the additional risk of the opera house caving in or we can go back upstairs and sneak out another way. If we could just get to the other side of the theater, I know a series of tunnels that lead into the city. We could escape that way."

"If we go back upstairs, are you certain you could get us out?" Natalie asked.

"Absolutely. Do you trust me?"

She nodded. "Let's go."

"This way!" Erik ordered, taking her hand once again. When they reached the end of the tunnel, he turned back to her. "Okay, this is it. Stay with me." Natalie nodded and the door swung open. "Hurry! We can't stay here for long."

Natalie understood that they only had a few minutes to get where they needed. The thick smoke was already burning her eyes and throat. If it wasn't for Erik, she probably would have started panicking, but his reassuring voice kept her calm. He guided her through the flames, and as he promised, they were soon at the entry to another one of his passageways.

Erik fumbled with the door. It wasn't opening for some strange reason. He looked up and saw that the hidden mechanism was stuck. Immediately, he began trying to fix it. Behind him, Natalie was starting to cough; she needed out of this smoke now. After what seemed like ages, the gears clicked back into place and the corridor was revealed. "Let's go!"

Natalie leaped backwards as a burning piece of wood fell from the ceiling, barely missing them. "Natalie!" Erik called from the other side of the flames.

"I'm fine!" she shouted back before dissolving into a coughing fit. The smoke was making it so hard for her to breathe. She looked over and saw Erik rushing towards her. Everything would be alright. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. Then she glanced up and saw more debris coming down. Only this time it was right on top of her.

The last thing she heard was Erik's scream. "NATALIE!"


	25. Chapter 25

"Natalie!"

Natalie stirred then opened her eyes. Hovering over her was the absolute last person she expected to see. "Shelby?" she asked in surprise. "Is that you? What are you doing here? Where am I? What happened?"

"Of course it's me! I'm your best friend! We were supposed to meet up at the movies but you crashed your car," Shelby explained. "You're in the hospital now. You got a seriously nasty concussion. As in, any harder and you could've wound up as a vegetable or worse."

"Wait, movies? Car?" Was she really speaking 2012 language?

"You know basic 21st Century technology. But the doctor said you'd be all confuzzled, with you being in a coma and all."

"A coma?" So everything with Erik was a dream? None of it actually happened? But it all seemed so real to her. How could it not have really happened?

"Yeah, for three days."

"_Three days?"_ Natalie screeched.

She nodded. "I'm so glad you're awake, the doctor said it could be weeks before you woke up and that's if you woke up at all."

Shelby hugged Natalie tightly, making her cry out. "OUCH!" There was a horrible pain in Natalie's chest.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry. I forgot you've got a couple of broken ribs."

"That would be the excruciating pain I'm now feeling," Natalie gasped. "What else is wrong with me?"

"Well, you've got the concussion and the broken ribs. You needed some stiches in your forehead because it got cut in the crash. I think you had some internal bleeding too. And on top of it all, you also got like a gazillion smaller cuts and bruises."

Natalie reached up and felt the neat line of stiches across her forehead. "So, in other words…"

"You're lucky you aren't dead," Shelby finished.

"Yeah," Natalie said with a sigh. She wondered if she really died, would she return to Erik? And if any of her crazy adventures with the Opera Ghost had actually happened. It wasn't fair! Why would she have to spend the rest of her life wondering if her happiest memories were nothing more than a hallucination?

"Natalie, why are you crying?"

Natalie shook her head. "I don't know," she lied. "I guess it's all just too much to take in at once. But I'll be okay." Shelby nodded in understanding, but Natalie felt somewhat bad about lying. But she couldn't exactly say she was crying over the loss of a love that may or may not even exist.

"Hey it'll be just fine. The doctor says that you'll make a full recovery. As soon as you're out of here, everything will go back to normal."

Natalie didn't have the heart to tell her friend that nothing would ever be normal again. But that didn't mean she couldn't try. "So any idea on what my grade was for that book essay? The one where you had to rewrite the ending."

"I got a B; the teacher said I didn't use enough creativity. I don't know for sure what you got, but you're such a good writer there is absolutely no reason you didn't get an A. That you could write that story inside out and upside down because you're so freaking in love with _Phantom of the Opera_."

"You have no idea," Natalie said with a sigh.

"Hey by the way," Shelby added. "Who's Erik?"

Natalie felt like someone hit her ribs again. "Where did you hear that name?" Shelby wasn't the brightest; otherwise she would've figured it out in a heartbeat.

"You kept saying that name when you were out. You actually screamed it right before you woke up. Who is he?"

"I don't know," Natalie insisted. She had spent enough time being the crazy girl in Erik's time; she didn't need to be one in her own world. "I haven't heard that name before. Did I say anything else?"

Shelby shook her head. "Nuh uh. Just 'Erik' over and over again. I wonder who he is."

"Me too."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Shelby got really excited. "I remember! I can't believe I forgot! How on earth did you forget is the bigger question."

"Who?" Natalie asked, in fake confusion.

"Remember that game we were playing online a few weeks ago? Well, not a game, just one of those stupid spam things that bounce around the internet. You picked some random numbers and plugged them into a code and it 'revealed' the name of your true love."

"No, I don't remember that!" Natalie was really truly confused now. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Well your answer was Erik."

"I don't remember that." Natalie laughed nervously. "Weird huh?"

"Really. I mean, those internet things are so pointless. But it's kinda freakishly coincidental that you're mumbling that name in your sleep."

"Yeah." Natalie closed her eyes and leaned back, trying hard not to cry. It wasn't Shelby's fault, but she sure was hitting a nerve repeatedly. "Hey, I don't mean to be rude but I'm really tired. This whole being in a coma thing is exhausting."

"Hey no problem," Shelby said. "Don't worry, you need to get better. I'll drop by later to check on you. Sleep tight."

When her friend was out of the room, Natalie broke down. It wasn't fair. She would do anything to go back, even if it was all her imagination. She wanted Erik so badly it physically hurt her, even if he was fictional.

With a sob, Natalie rolled over onto her side. She sat back up when she heard the crinkle of paper. She looked under the corner of the mattress, where she found a piece of paper tucked away. Holding her breath, she unfolded it, to reveal the picture Erik had drawn of her.

"Oh God, was it a dream or not?"

* * *

_So yeah, that's all folks! XD You shall forever wonder and hate me for it! Or hate me for ruining their happiness just as they got it, but that's how I roll. I'm not a huge fan of sugary happily ever afters. However, I do have a few ideas for a possible sequel but I'm not sure if I'm going to do anything with it, so keep your eyes peeled just in case. Thanks for putting up with me and thanks for all your support! Until next time!_

_~nibblesfan_


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